European Union/Timelines
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
- The Common Agricultural Policy.
1963 The UK's application to join the EEC is vetoed by France
1970-1979
1980-1989
1990-1999
1992 The Maastricht Treaty
1993 Copenhagen European Council[2] - criteria for membership
1997 The Treaty of Amsterdam
1999 The Eurozone (Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland.)
2000-2010
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, now join the EU. (Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey are candidates for membership).
- The 27 EU countries sign the Treaty of Lisbon.