Foreign Minister
Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first
step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel
industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal
and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium,
France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed
the Treaty of Paris. The ECSC was so successful that within a few
years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the
countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the
European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy
Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to
eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common
market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were
formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single
Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European
Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially
selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct
elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years
since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the
addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw
further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain
and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis
for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in
judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic
and monetary union - including a common currency. This further
integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria,
Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to
15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on
1 January 1999; it become the unit of exchange for all of the EU
states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002,
citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro
banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 -
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current
membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to
function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of
Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU
institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty