Everything about History Of The European Union totally explained
» This article refers to the development of what is now the European Union, and to developments within those countries
which constitute it at the time of, or near to, those events. For wider history of Europe during this period, see links below.
The
European Union is a
geo-political entity covering a large portion of the European continent. It is founded upon numerous treaties and has undergone expansions that has taken it from 6
member states to 27, a majority of states in Europe.
Its origins date back to the post-
second world war era, in particular the foundation of the
European Coal and Steel Community in
Paris 1951, following the "
Schuman declaration", or the
Treaties of Rome establishing the
European Economic Community. Both these bodies are now part of the European Union, which was formed under that name in 1993.
Pre-1945: The idea of Europe
Large areas of Europe had previously been unified by empires built on force, such as the
Roman Empire,
Frankish Empire,
Holy Roman Empire, the
First French Empire or
Nazi Germany. A peaceful means of some consolidation of European territories used to be provided by
dynastic unions; less common were country-level unions, such as the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire. Largely due to the devastating effects of war many people turned to the idea of some form of unified Europe, notably
William Penn,
Abbot Charles de Saint-Pierre,
Victor Hugo and
Giuseppe Mazzini.
Such ideas became greater following the
First World War, with the massive loss of life it entailed, forming organizations such as the
Pan-Europa movement, but it wasn't until after the
Second World War that real steps were taken.
1945–1957: Peace from coal and steel
The
Second World War from 1939 to 1945 saw a human and economic cost which hit Europe hardest. It demonstrated the horrors of war and also of extremism, through the
holocaust, for example. Once again, there was a desire to ensure it could never happen again, particularly with the war giving the world
nuclear weapons and two ideologically opposed superpowers.
To ensure Germany could never threaten the peace again, its heavy industry was partly dismantled (
The industrial plans for Germany) and its main coal-producing regions were detached (
Saarland,
Silesia), or put under international control (
Ruhr area).
With statements such as
Winston Churchill's 1946 call for a "
United States of Europe" becoming louder, in 1949 the
Council of Europe was established as the first pan-European organization. In the year following, on
9 May 1950, the
French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed a community to integrate the coal and steel industries of Europe - these being the two elements necessary to make weapons of war. (See:
Schuman declaration).
On the basis of that speech,
France,
Italy, the
Benelux countries (
Belgium,
Netherlands and
Luxembourg) together with
West Germany signed the
Treaty of Paris (1951) creating the
European Coal and Steel Community the following year, this took over the role of the
International Authority for the Ruhr(External Link
) and lifted some restrictions on German industrial productivity. It gave birth to the first institutions; such as the High Authority (now the
European Commission) and the Common Assembly (now the
European Parliament). The first presidents of those institutions were
Jean Monnet and
Paul-Henri Spaak respectively.
After failed attempts at creating defence (
European Defence Community) and political communities (
European Political Community), leaders met at the
Messina Conference and established the
Spaak Committee which produced the
Spaak report. The report was accepted at the
Venice Conference (29 and 30 May 1956) where the decision was taken to organize a
Intergovernmental Conference. The
Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom focused on economic unity, leading to the
Treaties of Rome being signed in
1957 which established the
European Economic Community (EEC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) among the members.
1958–1972: The three Communities
The two new communities 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). Euratom would integrate sectors in
nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a
customs union between members.
Throughout the 1960s tensions began to show with France seeking to limit supranational power and rejecting the membership of the United Kingdom. However, in 1965 an agreement was reached to merge the three communities under a single set of institutions, hence the
Merger Treaty was signed in Brussels and came into force on
1 July 1967 creating the
European Communities.
Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (
Rey Commission).
1973–1993: Enlargement to Delors
After much negotiation, and following a change in the
French Presidency,
Denmark,
Ireland and the
United Kingdom eventually joined the European Communities on
1 January 1973. This was the first of several enlargements which become a major policy area of the Union (see:
Enlargement of the European Union).
In 1979, the European Parliament held its first direct elections by universal suffrage (See:
History of the European Parliament). 410 members were elected, who then elected the first female
President of the European Parliament,
Simone Veil.
A further enlargement took place in 1981 with
Greece joining on
1 January, six years after applying. In 1985,
Greenland voted to leave the Community after gaining
home rule from
Denmark (See also:
EU territories).
Spain and
Portugal joined (having applied in 1977) on
1 January 1986 in the third enlargement.
Recently appointed Commission President
Jacques Delors (
Delors Commission) presided over the adoption of the
European flag by the Communities in 1986. In the first major revision of
the treaties since the Merger Treaty, leaders signed the
Single European Act in February 1986. The text dealt with institutional reform, including extension of community powers - in particular in regarding foreign policy. It was a major component in completing the single market and came into force on
1 July 1987.
In 1987
Turkey formally applied to join the Community and began the longest application process for any country. In 1989, following upheavals in Eastern Europe, the
Berlin Wall fell, along with the
Iron curtain.
Germany reunified and the door to enlargement to the former eastern bloc was opened (See also:
Copenhagen Criteria).
With a wave of new enlargements on the way, the
Maastricht Treaty was signed on
7 February 1992 which established the European Union when it came into force the following year.
1993–1999: The European Union
On
1 November 1993, under the third
Delors Commission, the
Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on the European Union) became effective, creating the European Union with its
pillar system including foreign and home affairs alongside the European Community. Under Maastricht, the
Committee of the Regions held its inaugural session on
9 March to
10 March 1994 with the election of Jacques Blanc as its President. On
25 May, the
European Investment Fund was established by the
EIB. The
European Police Office was created on
26 July 1995 with the signing of the
Europol convention.
Elections and Santer
On
9 June to
12 June 1994, the
fourth European elections were held resulting in a
Socialist victory. During its first session,
19 July to
26 July, Parliament elected
Klaus Hänsch as its President and approved
Jacques Santer as Commission President. His Commissioners were approved on
18 January 1995 and took office on the 23rd. On
19 July 1997,
José María Gil Robles was elected President of the Parliament.
Due to concerns over the proposal of
Jean-Luc Dehaene as
President of the European Commission, with the
United Kingdom not wishing another
Jacques Delors,
Jacques Santer (then-
Prime Minister of Luxembourg) was proposed as a less federalist option. However due to this. he was seen as being the "second choice" which weakened his position, with the
European Parliament approving him only by a narrow majority. He did however flex his powers over the nominations for the other
Commissioners. The President gained this power under the
Maastricht Treaty that came into force the previous year. On
1995-01-18 managed to get his Commission approved by Parliament by 416 votes to 103 (a larger majority than expected) and they were appointed by the Council on 23 January.
Free movement
On
1 January 1994 the
European Economic Area (EEA) entered into force, allowing
EFTA members
Norway and
Iceland to enter the single European market (created the previous year) without joining the Union, in exchange for financial contributions and taking on of relevant of EU law.
Switzerland had rejected membership and
Liechtenstein joined the following year on
1 May. On
23 February 1995 the
ECJ gave the "Bordessa ruling": citizens may export
banknotes without prior authorisation (
free movement of capital). Later that year on
15 December, it gave the
Bosman ruling, ruling that restriction on number of (EU) foreign players in football teams is illegal (
free movement of people).
The
Schengen Agreement (signed in 1985) came into effect on
26 March 1995 between Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Austria signed up on
28 April followed by Denmark, Finland and Sweden, alongside non-EU members
Norway and
Iceland, on
19 December 1996. The
EU-Turkey customs union entered into force on
1 January 1996.
Former Yugoslavia
During the 90s, the development EU's
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) was given a strong impetus by the conflicts in the Balkans. The EU failed to react during the beginning of the conflict, and
UN peacekeepers from the Netherlands failed to prevent the
Srebrenica massacre (July 1995) in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest mass murder in Europe since the second world war. The
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) finally had to
intervene in the war, forcing the combatants to the negotiation table. On
14 December 1995, the
Dayton Agreement was signed in
Paris, ending the conflict in
Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On
24 March 1999, the situation on
Kosovo led to an EU CFSP declaration on Kosovo and prompted a
NATO intervention in Kosovo and
Serbia. While there was greater EU involvement in the Kosovo conflict than in the Bosnian conflict, the failure of the EU to prevent the conflicts in former Yugoslavia, or to bring them to a quick close, heightened the desire for greater EU effectiveness in foreign affairs.
Economic and Monetary Union
On
1 January 1994, the second stage of the
EMU began with the establishment of the
European Monetary Institute. On
16 December 1995, the introduction of the
euro was decided for
1 January 1999. On
3 May 1998, the Council decided 11 members shall adopt the
euro in 1999 and laid down specifications and conversion rates. On
1 June the
European Central Bank was established. Final meetings are held in December with irrevocable conversion rates being set on the
31 December. It was successfully introduced on time, but would be another few years before it became the sole official currency in the 11 members.
Fourth enlargement
On
30 March 1994, accession negotiations concluded with Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway. Sweden and Finland had applied since the fall of the iron curtain; allowing them, as Cold War-neutral countries, to now align themselves with the Union. Their
accession treaties were signed on
25 June of that month. Each country held
referendums on entry resulting on entry for all except Norway (its second failed referendum);
Austria - 66.6% in favour (June 12); application submitted in July 1989
Finland - 56.9% in favour (October 16); application submitted in March 1992 (separate referendum held in Åland)
Sweden - 52.8% in favour (November 13); application submitted in July 1991
Norway - 47.8% in favour (November 28); application submitted in December 1992
Austria, Finland and Sweden became EU members on 1 January 1995. Sweden held their elections to the parliament later that year on 17 September. The following year, Austria held its elections on 13 October and Finland on 20 October.
Until 2004 the fifteen member countries were: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.
Amsterdam Treaty
The intergovernmental conference leading to the Treaty of Amsterdam opened on 29 March 1996 in Turin. On 22 July 1997, leaders of the Western European Union met and adopted a declaration, to be added to the treaty, defining its role with the EU and NATO. The Treaty was signed by foreign ministers on 2 October. The treaty entered into force on 1 May 1999.
The treaty sought to create an "area of freedom, justice and security" as well as strengthen the CFSP. There would also be institutional reforms to make the Union more democratic and adjust it to enlargement.
Amsterdam also incorporated the conclusions of the 1992 Edinburgh European Council which set out the current arrangements in regards to the seat of the institutions; the Parliament would thus be based in Strasbourg, where it must hold "twelve periods of monthly plenary sessions, including the budget session". However additional sessions may be held in Brussels, which is where committees must also meet while the secretariat must remain in Luxembourg. The Commission and Council would be based in Brussels however some Council meetings and some departments of the Commission would be in Luxembourg which would also host the judicial and financial bodies of the EU. However the Central Bank would be in Frankfurt and Europol in The Hague.
Budget crisis
Towards the end of 1998 a crisis developed around the community's budget for 1996. There had been allegations of financial miss-management in the Commission. The Parliament decided to refuse to give its approval to the budget, throwing the Commission into crisis. The People's Party attempted to force the resignation of the Commissioners Édith Cresson and Manuel Marín (both members of the Socialists) while the Socialist group still supported the Commission though and attempted a vote of confidence. Eventually a PES proposal based on collective responsibility (not singling out the two socialist Commissioners) was approved and a committee of independent experts was established to investigate..
The committee produced its report on 15 March 1999 and was presented to the Commission and Parliament. It largely cleared most members, aside from Cresson, but concluded that there was growing reluctance of the Commissioners to acknowledge responsibility and that "It was becoming increasingly difficult to find anyone who had the slightest sense of responsibility." In response to the report, PES withdrew their support from the Commission leading to a collapse of support for the Commission. Santer announced on evening of the reports publication that the entire Commission had resigned. Cresson today is largely held accountable for the fall of Santer, who went on to serve time as an MEP and never fully recovered, and the rest of his Commission.
The immediate effect on the Commission was that it became politically weakened and unable to react to the beginning of the Kosovo War and the close of the Agenda 2000 negotiations. The crisis had compounded the already reduced powers of the Commission in favour of the Parliament's legislative power, the Council's foreign policy role and the ECB's financial role. However the change with Parliament was the most profound, the previous permanent cooperation between the two bodies came to an end with the shift in power. Due to the crisis, the following Commission rapidly established the anti-fraud watchdog OLAF. and seen as having failed in its duty. On 4 June, Javier Solana was appointed Secretary General of the Council and the strengthened High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy admitted the intervention in Kosovo - Solana was also seen by some as Europe's first Foreign Minister.
On 10-13 June 1999 the Fifth European elections were held in all 15 members. On 20 July it elected Nicole Fontaine as its President and it approved the Prodi Commission on 15 September and it subsequently took office. In response to the recent scandal around the Santer Commission, OLAF was set up on 18 June 1999 to fight fraud in the Union's institutions. The Parliament later elected its new President, Pat Cox, on 16 January 2002.
The euro
With the euro coming into existence earlier in 1999, 2000 saw the Commission recommending Greece joining the eurozone, which it did at the start of 2001. However, both Denmark and Sweden rejected the currency in referendums held on 28 September 2000 and 14 September 2003, respectively. On 1 January 2002, the physical euro currency came into circulation in the 12 eurozone states, and became the sole legal currency of eurozone on 28 February.
Treaties
To deal with the impending enlargement in 2004 leaders met in Nice on 7 December 2000 to create a new treaty that would ensure the functioning of the Union with the extra members. The Nice Treaty was signed two months later on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003.
The Commission and the European Parliament were disappointed that the Nice Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) didn't adopt many of their proposals for reform of the institutional structure or introduction of new Community powers, such as the appointment of a European Public Prosecutor. The European Parliament threatened to pass a resolution against the Treaty; although it has no formal power of veto, the Italian Parliament threatened that it wouldn't ratify without the European Parliament's support. However, in the end this didn't come to pass and the European Parliament approved the Treaty.
During the ratification period of the Nice Treaty, the European Convention began work on the European Constitution with it starting work from 28 February 2002, shortly after the Paris Treaty establishing the ECSC expired on 23 July. On the basis of the work of the European Convention, an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) is held in Rome on 4 October 2003 to make changes the proposed text. It is signed in Rome on the 28 October 2004 by all the EU leaders.
Fifth enlargement
Since the 1990s, numerous states were moving towards membership. Following on from 1995, and aside from the aspirations of Turkey, there were 12 countries advanced on the path to membership. These were: the two Mediterranean countries of Malta and Cyprus; the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia; and 9 former eastern bloc countries of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
It was hoped that Cyprus would join as a unified island. However, northern Cyprus has remained outside the control of the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus since the Turkish invasion of 1974. The Annan Plan for the resolution of the Cyprus dispute was rejected by Greek Cypriots in a 2004 referendum.
The accession treaties were signed on 16 April 2003 in Athens. Romania and Bulgaria were not among the 10 chosen to accede in 2004.
Finally, on 1 May 2004, the Union expanded from 15 to 25 members, the largest single expansion in its history. Its population jumped from 381 million to 456 million and its size grew from 3367 to 4104 thousand km² (See Enlargement Statistics). The 10 countries also brought with them 162 MEPs and 10 Commissioners, who joined the Prodi Commission on May 1st.
» Source of majority of dates used: Europa, History of EU 2000-Present
2004–present: Recent history
13 June 2004, the 25 member states participated in the largest trans-national election in history (with the second largest democratic electorate in the world). The result of the sixth Parliamentary election was a second victory for the European People's Party-European Democrats group. It also saw the lowest voter turnout of 45.5%, the second time it had fallen below 50%.
On 22 July 2004, José Manuel Barroso is approved by the new Parliament as the next Commission President. However his new team of 25 Commissioners faced a tougher road. With Parliament raising objections to a number of his candidates he was forced to withdraw his selection and try once more. The Prodi Commission had to extend their mandate to the 22 November after the new line up of Commissioners was finally approved.
Institutional reform
Failed Constitution
Early on in Barroso's administration, ratification of the proposed European Constitution got underway. Four referendums were held, the first was in Spain. Spanish voters approved the constitution by 77%, French voters rejected it by 58%, Dutch voters rejected it by 61% and Luxembourgian voters approved it by 57%. As a result of the French and Dutch no votes, ratification stalled and the Union entered a "period of reflection".
Treaty of Lisbon
On the 25 March 2007 the Berlin Declaration was signed (for the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome), it was hoped it would give new impetus to finding a new institutional settlement by the elections in 2009.
The result was the (Reform) Treaty of Lisbon. It amends the existing treaties rather than overwriting them with a single document. The Lisbon Treaty carries many of the innovations from the abandoned Constitution, but has dropped aspects which could be perceived as state-like and 'constitutional', such as the symbols.
Referendum is underway on this treaty.
Enlargement and the euro
In 2007, the fifth enlargement completed with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria on 1 January. 53 MEPs joined the Parliament along with two Commissioners, for which two new posts were created in the Commission. The post created for the Romanian Commissioner was Multilingualism, which was criticised by some for its narrow scope.
On the same day, Slovenia adopted the euro, after other candidates such as Lithuania were turned down due to inflation. Malta and Cyprus adopted the euro on 1 January 2008.
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