2. I. Opening Address to the Peace Congress (Paris,
August 21, 1849)
• A DAY WILL COME when your arms will fall even from your hands! A day will come when war
will
seem as absurd and impossible between Paris and London, between Petersburg and Berlin,
between Vienna and Turin, as it would be impossible and would seem absurd today between Rouen
and Amiens, between Boston and Philadelphia. A day will come when you France, you Russia, you
Italy, you England, you Germany, you all, nations of the continent, without losing your distinct
qualities
and your glorious individuality, will be merged closely within a superior unit and you will form the
European brotherhood, just as Normandy, Brittany, Burgundy, Lorraine, Alsace, all our provinces are
merged together in France. A day will come when the only fields of battle will be markets opening up
to trade and minds opening up to ideas. A day will come when the bullets and the bombs will be
replaced by votes, by the universal suffrage of the peoples, by the venerable arbitration of a great
sovereign senate which will be to Europe what this parliament is to England, what this diet is to
Germany, what this legislative assembly is to France. A day will come when we will display cannon in
museums just as we display instruments of torture today, and are amazed that such things could ever
have been possible. (…)
victor hugo (1882-1885)

3. EUROPEAN
UNION

4. Brief Introduction
• 19 September 1946 in Zurich, Winston
Churchill calls for a United States of
Europe. Head of States being present at
this meeting were: Konrad Adenauer,
Winston Churchill, Alcide de Gasperi y
Robert Schuman.
• 1948 Marshall Plan ( USA-Actions- Aid
for the reconstruction Europe’s supported
and influenced the creation of the OEEC
(Organization for European Economic
Cooperation. 1961 changed to the OECD
(Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development) early OEEC.
• 1949 establishment of the NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization)
• Schuman Declaration envisaged the
scheme as "the first concrete step
towards a European federation". It is
considered to be the beginning of the
creation of what is now the European
Union, and led to the formation of the
European Coal and Steel Community
by West Germany, France, Italy and the

5. • 22 January 1963 France and Federal Republic of Germany sign Treaty of Friendship
and Cooperation in Paris (Elysée Treaty).
• 1-2 December 1969 Heads of State or Government meet in The Hague to discuss
completion of single market, greater integration and enlargement of the EC. They
agree to phase in economic and monetary union (EMU) by 1980, to speed up
integration and cooperation on political matters. They also agree to open negotiations
with Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
• 21 April 1970 Council decides that from 1975 EC will receive its own resources.
• 1973 entered Dinamarca, Irlanda y Reino Unido
• 1978 Bremen European Council approves plan to set up European Monetary System
(EMS) and European monetary unit (Ecu).
• 7-10 June 1979First elections to European Parliament by direct universal suffrage
held in the nine Member States: Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
• 1 January 1981Greece becomes 10th Member State.
• 1986 Portugal and Spain bring the members to 12.

6. • The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty of European Union, TEU) was signed on
February 7, 1992 in Maastricht, Netherlands It led to the creation of the European Union and
was the result of separate negotiations on monetary union and on political union. The
Maastricht Treaty has been amended to a degree by later treaties.
• 2 May 1992In Porto EC and EFTA Foreign Ministers sign agreement establishing
European economic area (EEA).
• 1993 At special summit in Brussels European Union Heads of State or Government
agree location of new EU institutions. European Monetary Institute to be in Frankfurt,
Europol in the Netherlands and European Environment Agency in Denmark.
• 1 November 1993Treaty on European Union enters into force.
• 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join EU.
• 1995 Schengen Agreement enters into force. No more passport controls between
Benelux countries, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain.
• 1995New transatlantic agenda signed in Madrid. European Union and USA declare
willingness to develop trade and work together closely to resolve international
problems.
• 1996The European Council in Dublin agrees a stability and growth pact for the
economic and monetary union and the future euro notes are presented to the public.
The European leaders commit themselves to fighting international crime.

7. • 2001 The Treaty of Nice is a treaty adopted in Nice by the European
Council to amend the two founding treaties of the European Union:
• the Treaty on European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, which introduced
the euro and the three-pillar structure of the EU;
• the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic
Community and the European Atomic Energy Community.
• 1 February 2003 Treaty of Nice enters into force.
• 29 October 2004European Union leaders sign
Constitutional Treaty in Rome.
• 25 April 2005 Accession treaties signed with Bulgaria and
Romania.
• 16-17 June 2005 at a European Council in Brussels, leaders
opt to invoke a period of reflection and discussion on the
Constitutional Treaty.

8. Organizational Chart

9. European Union
• The European Union is the largest political and economic
entity in Europe
– 25 member states:
• Founding Members (1952 – 1958): Belgium, France, Italy,
Luxemburg, Netherlands, West Germany,
• Second phase (1958 – 1986): Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom,
Greece, Portugal and Spain
• Third phase (1995): Austria, Finland, Sweden
• Fourth phase (2004): Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia,
• January 2007: Bulgaria and Romania
• In Negotiations: Turkey and Croatia

10. EUROPEAN UNION
• The ground rules of the European Union are set out in a series of treaties:
– the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951;
– the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957.
• These founding treaties were subsequently amended and developed by:
– the Single European Act (1986);
– the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht, 1992);
– the Treaty of Amsterdam; May 1, 1999 marked the entry into force of the Amsterdam
Treaty, a new "constitution" for the 15-nation European Union (EU).
– the Treaty of Nice (2000) and entered into force (2003). Acts as an amendment of the
Maastricht Treaty, which sets up the rules and first policy drafts about a European
Constitution.

11. EURO
• The euro (currency sign: €) is the official currency of the Eurozone (also known as the Euro
Area), which consists of the European states of:
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain.
• It is the single currency for more than 317 million Europeans. Including areas using currencies
pegged to the euro, the euro affects more than 480 million people worldwide.
• Maastricht obligated current members to join the euro; but the United Kingdom and Denmark
negotiated exemptions from that requirements for themselves. Several small European states
(The Vatican, Monaco and San Marino), although not EU members, have adopted the euro due
to currency unions with member states. Andorra, Montenegro and Kosovo have adopted the
euro unilaterally.

12. EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
• 50-year process culminating in the elaboration of a Constitution for the European
Union. The Treaties and Stages:
• The Treaty of Paris (1951) created the European Steel and Coal Community
(ESCC).
• The Treaties of Rome (1957) established the European Economic Community (EEC)
and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC)
• The Single European Act (1986) introduced measures aimed at achieving an
internal market and greater political cooperation.
• The Maastricht Treaty (1992) established EU citizenship and the European
Monetary Union (EMU).
• The Amsterdam Treaty (1997) introduced measures to reinforce political union and
prepare for enlargement towards the East.
• The Nice Treaty (2001) defined the institutional changes necessary for enlargement.
• And finally, the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe seeks to simplify and
synthesize previous treaties within a single, clear, foundational document for the
European Union.
• Each of the main treaties leading to the current constitutional document has
undergone a three stage process of preparation , negotiation and ratification.

13. Procedure…
• EU Re-foundation and renovation.
• Incorporation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights Italian and Irish Presidencies had led the
negotiation and final approval of this document.
• On 29 October 2004, the Heads of State or Government of the 25 Member States and the 3
candidate countries signed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe which will then need
to be ratified by all 25 member states of the enlarged Union.
• The Treaty’s Constitution was approved at the European Council in Brussels on the 18th of June
2004 and signed in Rome on the 29th of October 2004 by the 25 Member States of the European
Union. The candidate countries Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania only signed the Final Act. Croatia
participated as an observer nation because it had not participated in the works of the Convention.
• Member States will now have to ratify the Constitution in accordance with the modalities of their
national legislations.
• In the ratification of the European Constitution by open referenda, citizen's opinion will have a
greater importance than ever before.
• The constitutional treaty open a period of ratification to be finished by October 2006. To date, 13
member states have already ratified the Treaty, either by parliamentary procedures or by
referendum, 2 countries have expressed their rejection and the remaining member states either
have their process on hold or they still have not decide the ratification procedure.
• After the rejection of the text by French and Dutch citizens, member states agreed on convoking
a Reflection Period.

14. Bibliography
• http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/czechslovaklands/
• The library of Congress. Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cstoc.html
• CIA – The World factbook
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/appendix/appendix-a.html
• http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/index_en.html
• http://europa.eu/abc/12lessons/index1_en.htm
• Die Europäische Gemeinschaft, Bayerische Landeszentrale für politische
Bindungsarbeit, München 2004.
• Sicherheit und Frieden zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts. Bayerische
Landeszentrale für Politische Bildungsarbeit, München, 2004.