Navigation path
Navigation path
On September 3rd 1939, Nazi Germany rejects the Allied ultimatum. France, UK, along with India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, declare war on Germany. Germany's official surrender is signed on May 7th 1945. The conflict is brought to an end. On 18 April 1951, in Paris, Robert Schuman for France, Konrad Adenauer for Germany, Paul van Zeeland and Joseph Meurice for Belgium, Count Carlo Sforza for Italy, Joseph Bech for Luxembourg and Dirk Stikker and Jan van den Brink for the Netherlands sign the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). On 25 March 1957 on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, the representatives of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands sign the Treaties of Rome consisting of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). The treaties come into effect on 1 January 1958. On 30 March 1962 European Parliamentary Assembly changes its name to 'European Parliament'. On 1 January 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Communities, bringing the number of members to nine. Greek EC membership obtained in 1981. On 1 January 1986, Spain and Portugal join the European Economic Community, which thereafter becomes the ‘Europe of the Twelve’. The Maastricht Treaty, formally the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), is agreed and signed by the states in Maastricht on 7 February 1992. The Treaty enters into force on 1 November 1993. The new European dynamism and the continent's changing geopolitics lead to the accession of three more countries - Austria, Finland and Sweden - on 1 January 1995. The Europe of Fifteen is born. The Amsterdam Treaty comes into force on 1 May 1999. The European Commission's Strategic Report of October 9 2002 recommended 10 candidate countries for inclusion in the EU: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus in 2004. On 29 October 2004, the Heads of State or Government of the 25 Member States and the 3 candidate countries signed the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. The people of France and the Netherlands rejected the text of the Constitution on 29 May and 1 June respectively.
Part 1: From World War II to the ECSC
Part 2: From the Treaty of Rome to the first European elections
Part 3: From the first European elections to the Treaty of Maastricht
Part 4: From the Treaty of Maastricht to the last enlargements
Part 5: From the last enlargements to the European Constitution
