2. Treaty of Paris of 18 April 1951:
• The European Coal and Steel Community is established
by the six founding members (Belgium, the Federal
Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands)
3. Treaty of Rome of 25 March 1957
European Economic Community (EEC) based on a wider
common market covering a whole range of goods and
services. Customs duties between the six countries were
completely abolished on 1 July 1968 and common policies,
notably on trade and agriculture, were also put in place during
the 1960s.
4. 1 Jan 1973: First Major Expansion - Britain,
Denmark and Ireland join the European
Community.
5. 1981 - Greek Expansion - Greece becomes
the 10th EU member.
6. 1986 - Iberian Expansion - Portugal and Spain
join, adding the territory of Iberia to the EU.
7. The worldwide economic recession in the early
1980s brought with it a wave of ‘euro-pessimism’.
However, hope sprang anew in 1985 when the
European Commission, under its President
Jacques Delors, published a White Paper setting
out a timetable for completing the European single
market by 1 January 1993. This ambitious goal
was enshrined in the Single European Act, which
was signed in February 1986 and came into force
on 1 July 1987.
8. 1995 - Second Major Expansion - Austria,
Sweden and Finland join the European Union.
9. EU was on course for its most spectacular
achievement yet, creating a single currency. The
euro was introduced for financial (non-cash)
transactions in 1999, while notes and coins were
issued three years later in the 12 countries of the euro
area (also commonly referred to as the euro zone).
10. 2004 - Third Major Expansion - Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are
brought into the European Union; the largest
single expansion of the EU to date.
11. 2007 - Beginning of Balkan Expansion -
Bulgaria and Romania join the EU marking the
final enlargement of the economic union to
date.
