Beginnings: War and Peace

For centuries, Europe was the scene of frequent and bloody wars: between 1870 and 1945, France and Germany fought each other three times, with terrible loss of life. A number of European leaders became convinced that the only way to secure a lasting peace between their countries was to unite them economically and politically.

In 1950, Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister, proposed integrating the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. In 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up, with six members: Belgium, West Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The power to take decisions about the coal and steel industry in these countries was placed in the hands of an independent, supranational body called the "High Authority". Jean Monnet was its first President.

From Three Communities to the EU

The ECSC proved such a success that, within a few years, the six countries decided to go further and integrate other sectors of their economies. In 1957 they signed the Treaties of Rome, creating the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC). The Member States set about removing trade barriers between them and forming a "common market".

In 1967 the institutions of the three European communities were merged. From this point on, there was a single Commission and a single Council of Ministers as well as the European Parliament.

Originally, the members of the European Parliament were chosen by the national parliaments but, in 1979, the first direct elections were held, allowing the citizens of the Member States to vote for the candidate of their choice. Since then, direct elections have been held every five years.

The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht introduced new forms of co-operation between the Member State governments, for example, regarding defence and in the area of justice and home affairs. By adding this inter-governmental co-operation to the existing "Community" system, the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union (EU).

Integration Means Common Policies

Economic and political integration between the Member States of the EU means that these countries must take joint decisions on many matters. They have developed common policies in a very wide range of fields - from agriculture to culture, from consumer affairs to competition, from the environment and energy to transport and trade. In the early days the focus was on a common commercial policy for coal and steel and a common agricultural policy. Other policies were added over time, as the need arose.

Some key policy aims have changed in the light of changing circumstances. For example, the aim of the agricultural policy is no longer to produce as much food as cheaply as possible but, rather, to support farming methods that produce healthy, high-quality food and protect the environment. The need for environmental protection is now taken into account across the whole range of EU policies.

The EU's relations with the rest of the world have also become important - it negotiates major trade and aid agreements with other countries and is developing a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

Robert Shuman - Visionary and founding father of the EU

The European flag was adopted in 1985. The circle of gold stars represents solidarity and harmony between the peoples of Europe

The Single Market

It took some time for the Member States to remove all the barriers to trade and to turn their "common market" into a genuine single market in which goods, services, people and capital could move around freely. The Single Market was formally completed at the end of 1992, though there is still work to be done in some areas, such as creating a genuine single market in financial services.

During the 1990s, it became increasingly easy for people to move around in Europe, as passport and customs checks were abolished at most of the EU's internal borders. One consequence is greater mobility for EU citizens. Since 1987, for example, more than a million young Europeans have taken study courses abroad, with support from the EU.

The Single Currency

In 1992, the EU opted for economic and monetary union (EMU), involving the introduction of a single European currency managed by a European Central Bank. The single currency - the Euro - became a reality on 1 January 2002, when euro notes and coins replaced national currencies in twelve of the fifteen Member States: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

On 1 January 2007, Slovenia became the first country among the ten who joined the Union in 2004 to adopt the Euro. To do so, it had to meet strict financial and economic criteria.

The Growing Family

The EU has grown in size with successive waves of accessions. In the beginning, six countries - Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands - founded the EEC, in 1957. Six successful enlargements have followed:

• 1973 - Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom
• 1981 - Greece
• 1986 - Portugal and Spain
• 1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden
• 2004 - Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
• 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania

Croatia and Turkey began membership negotiations in 2005.

Nowadays, the EU comprises 480 million citizens in twenty-seven Member States.

The EU now accounts for 20% of world trade and 25% of global GNP. It also provides 55% of the world's overseas development assistance.

To ensure that the enlarged EU could continue functioning efficiently, it needed a more streamlined system for taking decisions, hence the Treaty of Nice established new rules governing the size of the EU institutions and the way they work. It came into force in February 2003.