ade 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 to the EU, raising the membership total
to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1
January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU
states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens
of the 12 euro-area countries began using 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, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives
member states two years to ratify the document before it is
scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006.

Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in
various countries have raised questions about the erosion of
national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from
the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the
constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro
currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and
perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers"
might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically
integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of
members