European Union/Timelines: Difference between revisions
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1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU. | 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU. | ||
: ''The Schengen Agreement'' takes effect in seven countries — Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. Travellers of any nationality can travel between all these countries without any passport control at the frontiers. | : ''The Schengen Agreement''[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4738063.stm] takes effect in seven countries — Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. Travellers of any nationality can travel between all these countries without any passport control at the frontiers. | ||
1997 The '''Treaty of Amsterdam'''[http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/treaties/amsterdam_treaty/index_en.htm] | 1997 The '''Treaty of Amsterdam'''[http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/institutional_affairs/treaties/amsterdam_treaty/index_en.htm] | ||
Revision as of 11:14, 13 December 2010
1949-1959
1949 The Council of Europe is founded.
1951 The Treaty of Paris establishes the European Coal and Steel Community.
1954 The European Court of Justice makes its first ruling.
1957 The Treaty of Rome[1] creates the European Economic Community (membership (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands).
1958 The first meeting of the European Parliamentary Assembly.
1959 The European Free Trade Association is established (membership Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).
1960-1969
1962 The European Commission[2]
- The Common Agricultural Policy[3].
1963 The UK's application to join the EEC is vetoed by France
1966 The introduction of majority voting[4]
1967 The value-added tax[5] - the coordination of member states' indirect tax systems by the intoduction of a uniform value-added tax with rates of 15 to 25 per cent.
- The new Commission
1970-1979
1973 Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the Union
1879 The first direct elections to the European Parliament
1980-1989
1981 Greece joins the Union
1986 Spain and Portugal join the Union
- The Single European Act[6] - provides for increasing the number of cases in which the Council can take decisions by qualified majority voting instead of unanimity..
1990-1999
1992 The Maastricht Treaty[7]
1993 Copenhagen European Council[8] - criteria for membership
1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
- The Schengen Agreement[9] takes effect in seven countries — Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. Travellers of any nationality can travel between all these countries without any passport control at the frontiers.
1997 The Treaty of Amsterdam[10]
1999 The Eurozone (founder members: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland.)
2000-2010
2001 Greece joins the eurozone
2003 The Treaty of Nice[11][12]
2004 Eight countries of central and eastern Europe join the EU (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia).
- The 25 EU countries sign a Treaty establishing a European Constitution.
2007 Bulgaria and Romania, join the Union.
- The 27 EU countries sign the Treaty of Lisbon[13] - provides for a strengthened role for the European Parliament, greater involvement of national parliaments, and provisions for withdrawal from membership/
- Slovenia joins the eurozone
2008 Cyprus and Malta join the eurozone
2009 Slovakia joins the eurozone
2010 The eurozone crisis - see the eurozone crisis timeline.