Timeline of European Union history

This is a timeline of European Union history and its previous development.

Distinct periods

• Pre-1945 ideas
• 1945–1957
• 1958–1972
• 1973–1993
• 1993–2004
• 2004–present

Individual years

European Coal and Steel Community

1950s

1952

1953

1954

1955

1956

1957

European Economic Community

1950s

1958

1959

1960s

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

European Communities

1960s

1967

1968

1969

1970s

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980s

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990s

1990

1991

1992

European Union

1990s

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000s

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010s

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Key events

• 2016 – UK holds a Membership Referendum and votes to secede from the EU
• 2013 – Accession of Croatia
• 2009 – Lisbon Treaty abolishes the three pillars of the European Union
• 2007 – Accession of Bulgaria and Romania
• 2005 – France and the Netherlands reject the Constitution
• 2004 – Accession of ten countries; signing of Constitution
• 2002 – The euro replaces twelve national currencies
• 1999 – Fraud in the Commission results in resignation
• 1995 – Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden
• 1993 – Copenhagen criteria defined
• 1992 – Maastricht Treaty formally called the Treaty on European Union - The European Union is born and the Euro was introduced as the fellow currency (Denmark and the UK are not included in the EMU (European Monetary Union)).
• 1989 – The fall of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe
• 1986 – Single European Act; Accession of Portugal and Spain; flag adopted
• 1985 – Delors Commission, Greenland leaves Community.
• 1981 – Accession of Greece
• 1979 – First direct elections to Parliament
• 1973 – Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the UK
• 1967 – ECSC, EEC and Euratom merged
• 1963 – Ankara Agreement initiated a three-step process toward creating a Customs Union which would help secure Turkey's full membership in the EEC.
• 1963 – Charles de Gaulle vetoes UK entry
• 1957 – Treaty of Rome creates Economic Community
• 1951 – Treaty of Paris creates Coal and Steel Community
• 1945 – The end of World War II

Structural evolution

Signed In force Document

1948 1948 Brussels Treaty

1951 1952 Paris Treaty

1954 1955 Modified Brussels Treaty

1957 1958 Rome Treaty

1965 1967 Merger Treaty

1975 N/A European Council conclusion

1985 1995 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

See also

• History of the European Union
  • Ideas of European unity before 1945
  • History of the European Coal and Steel Community (1945–57)
  • History of the European Communities (1958–72)
  • History of the European Communities (1973–93)
  • History of the European Union (1993–2004)
  • History of the European Union (since 2004)
• European Coal and Steel Community
• European Economic Community

External links

• A timeline of the EU – BBC News.
• The history of the European Union – Europa
• European Union Politics Timeline - Oxford University Press: European Union Politics Resource Centre
• Archival material concerning the history of the European Union can be consulted at the Historical Archives of the European Union in Florence