The European Union (EU)

Creation of the EU
History of the EU
The historical roots of the
European Union lie in the
Second World War.
Idea of European
integration conceived to
prevent such killing and
destruction from ever
happening again
First proposed by the
French Foreign Minister
Robert Schuman in a
speech on May 9, 1950.
This date, the "birthday"
of what is now the EU, is
celebrated annually as
Europe Day
Phases of growth
Initially, the European Economic
Community (EEC) consisted of just six
countries: Belgium, Germany, France,
Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
(1958)
European Communities (EC) (1967)
Denmark, Ireland and the United
Kingdom joined in 1973
Greece in 1981
Spain and Portugal in 1986
European Union (EU) (after 1992)
(Maastricht Treaty)
Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995
Largest enlargement took place with 10
new countries joining May 9, 2004

1951:
In the aftermath of World War II, the aim was to
secure peace among Europes victorious and
vanquished nations and bring them together as
equals, cooperating within shared institutions.
Based on a plan by French Foreign Minister
Robert Schuman (to German Chancellor
Adenauer)
Six founding countries Belgium, the Federal
Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands signed a treaty to run
heavy industries (coal and steel) under common
management to make war not only unthinkable
but materially impossible

European Coal and
Steel Community
Jean Monnet and other leaders with
the first European ingot of steel

5
6
Robert Schuman (1886 - 1963)

French Foreign Minister from 1948 - 1952
presented the Schuman Plan and announced
the Schuman Declaration on May 9, 1950
formed by this the first supranational
European institution

7
The Schuman Plan

Monnets idea was to subordinate parts of the energy and
heavy industries sector to a joint and legislative authority
common regulations should create a common market for
related goods
politically, the supranational approach promised control over
all important military industries
economically, France could benefit from the transnational,
common market and the availability of energy, and improve
its economic modernisation
no alternative intergouvernemental approach was that
auspicious

8
The EU is a unique, treaty-based institutional framework defining and managing economic and
political cooperation among its 27 member states
WHY EUROPEAN
COOPERATION and INTEGRATION?
Propelled by a distinctive set of historical circumstances and impulses and
motivated by political, economic and security considerations.
1. Wish to avoid a repeat of governmental failures culminated in two World
Wars in the 20
th
century and expansionist nationalism (Nazi Germany).
2. Economic devastation caused by wartime destruction.
3. Emergence of two superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union with
competing economic and political ideologies.
4. Division of Europe (East and West) and the need for security from Soviet
threat and expansionism.
5. Need for rapid development in standards of living and economic
performance to establish long-lasting peace and security. Poor economic
performance was perceived as providing a climate of political instability
conducive to the growth of Fascism and Communism as the extreme
ideologies.
6. Franco-German reconciliation as the bedrock of stability within Western
Europe.