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| History | |
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Main article: History of the European Union
Robert Schuman proposing the Coal and Steel Community on 9 May 1950.
After World War II, moves towards European integration were seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent.[22] One such attempt to unite Europeans was the European Coal and Steel Community, which was declared to be "a first step in the federation of Europe", starting with the aim of eliminating the possibility of further wars between its member states by means of pooling the national heavy industries.[23] The founding members of the Community were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The originators and supporters of the Community include Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak, and Alcide De Gasperi.[24]
In 1957, the six countries signed the Treaties of Rome, which extended the earlier cooperation within the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and created the European Economic Community, (EEC) establishing a customs union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for cooperation in developing nuclear energy. The treaty came into force in 1958.[24]
The Rome Treaty was signed in 1957 and came into force in 1958. It created the European Economic Community.
The EEC and Euratom were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The executives of the new communities were called Commissions, as opposed to the "High Authority". The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and then Etienne Hirsch. Euratom would integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union between members.[25][26][27]
Throughout the 1960s tensions began to show with France seeking to limit supranational power. However, in 1965 an agreement was reached and hence in 1967 the Merger Treaty was signed in Brussels. It came into force on 1 July 1967 and created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities (EC), although commonly just as the European Community.[28][29] Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (Rey Commission).[30]
The Iron Curtain's fall in 1989 enabled eastward enlargement. (Berlin Wall)
In 1973 the Communities enlarged to include Denmark (including Greenland, which later left the Community in 1985), Ireland, and the United Kingdom.[31] Norway had negotiated to join at the same time but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum and so Norway remained outside. In 1979, the first direct, democratic elections to the European Parliament were held.[32]
Greece joined in 1981, Portugal and Spain in 1986.[33] In 1985, the Schengen Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states.[34] In 1986, the European flag began to be used by the Community[35] and the Single European Act was signed.
In 1990, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a newly united Germany.[36] With enlargement towards European formerly communist countries as well as Cyprus and Malta on the agenda, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the European Union were agreed.
The introduction of the euro in 2002 replaced several national currencies.
The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993,[10] and in 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the newly established EU. In 2002, euro notes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the eurozone has increased to encompass 17 countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the Union.[37]
On 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became the EU's newest members. In the same year Slovenia adopted the euro,[37] followed in 2008 by Cyprus and Malta, by Slovakia in 2009 and by Estonia in 2011. In June 2009, the 2009 Parliament elections were held leading to a renewal of Barroso's Commission Presidency, and in July 2009 Iceland formally applied for EU membership.
On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many aspects of the EU. In particular it changed the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three pillars system into a single legal entity provisioned with legal personality, and it created a permanent President of the European Council, the first of which is Herman Van Rompuy, and a strengthened High Representative, Catherine Ashton.[38]
On 9 December 2011, Croatia signed the EU accession treaty.[39] The EU accession referendum was held in Croatia on 22 January 2012, with the majority voting for Croatia's accession to the European Union making it the 28th member state as of July 2013.
Tags:Brussels,Luxembourg,Czech,German,Slovak,Denmark,Euro,Eur,Eurozone,I,Economic,Europe,European Coal And Steel Community,European Economic Community,Six Countries,Maastricht Treaty,Supranational,European Council,European Parliament,Robert Schuman,Proposing,Coal And Steel Community,9 May,World War Ii,Belgium,France,Italy,Netherlands,West Germany,Jean Monnet,Paul-henri Spaak,Alcide De Gasperi,Treaties Of Rome,European Atomic Energy Community,Rome Treaty,Walter Hallstein,Hallstein Commission,Louis Armand,Armand Commission,Etienne Hirsch,Merger Treaty,European Communities,Jean Rey, | |
| Treaties | |
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Main article: Treaties of the European Union
Signed
In force
Document
1948
1948
Brussels Treaty
1951
1952
Paris Treaty
1954
1955
Modified Brussels Treaty
1957
1958
Rome treaties
1965
1967
Merger Treaty
1975
N/A
European Council conclusion
1985
1985
Schengen Treaty
1986
1987
Single European Act
1992
1993
Maastricht Treaty
1997
1999
Amsterdam Treaty
2001
2003
Nice Treaty
2007
2009
Lisbon Treaty
Three pillars of the European Union:
European Communities:
European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
Treaty expired in 2002
European Union (EU)
European Economic Community (EEC)
Schengen Rules
European Community (EC)
TREVI
Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)
Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC)
European Political Cooperation (EPC)
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
Unconsolidated bodies
Western European Union (WEU)
Treaty terminated in 2011
v
d
e
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| Geography | |
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Main article: Geography of the European Union
The EU's climate is influenced by its 65,993 km (41,006 mi) coastline (Cyprus).
Mont Blanc in the Alps is the highest peak in the EU.
The EU's member states cover an area of 4,423,147 square kilometres (1,707,787 sq mi).[nb 3] The EU is larger in area than all but six countries, and its highest peak is Mont Blanc in the Graian Alps, 4,810.45 metres (15,782 ft) above sea level.[40] The lowest point in the EU is Zuidplaspolder in the Netherlands, at 7 m (23 ft) below sea level. The landscape, climate, and economy of the EU are influenced by its coastline, which is 65,993 kilometres (41,006 mi) long. The EU has the world's second-longest coastline, after Canada. The combined member states share land borders with 19 non-member states for a total of 12,441 kilometres (7,730 mi), the fifth-longest border in the world.[12][41][42]
Including the overseas territories of member states, the EU experiences most types of climate from Arctic (North-East Europe) to tropical (French Guyana), rendering meteorological averages for the EU as a whole meaningless. The majority of the people lives in areas with a temperate maritime climate (North-Western Europe and Central Europe), a Mediterranean climate ( Tags:French, | |
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