The history of the EU
The birth of the EU dates back to 1951
and the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC). The purpose of the ECSC was to create a
stability pact at the heart of Europe, which aimed to avoid any
repetition of the devastating Wars that had plagued Europe over the
previous 50 years.
The ECSC was concluded between six countries
Germany, Italy, France Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, who
jointly agreed to control the production and distribution of Coal
and Steel, two commodities heavily associated with the waging of
war.
The ECSC was so successful that trade of coal
and steel between the six increased by 129% in the first five years
and prompted the members to seek further integration. The result
was that the six signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 and formally
established the European Economic Community
(EEC).
Since then another 19 countries have joined
the European Union with sucsessive enlargements taking place
in;
- 1973 - UK, Ireland and
Denmark
- 1981 -Greece
- 1986 - Spain and
Portugal
- 1995 - Austria, Sweden and
Finland
- 2004 - Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuanian, Poland, Malta, Slovak Republic and
Slovenia
In addition to expanding extensively over 50
years, the name of the EEC has also undergone a series of
modifications over time, which eventually led to the adoption of
the European Union (EU) in 1993 when the Maastricht Treaty was
signed.
The European Union is now the world's largest
single market, with over 450 Million consumers, which is bigger
that the USA and Japan combined
