A Glimpse at EU History

The Second World War was the cause of death, destruction and untold suffering for the peoples of Europe and it was clear to post-War European politicians that a formula which would guarantee a lasting peace in Europe had to be found without delay. In 1950, it was the French Minister for Foreign Affairs Robert Schumann who promoted the idea of establishing a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This community was perceived as a first step in avoiding conflicts and encouraging multi-lateral co-operation and also as a tool to be used in favour of the peaceful solution of disputes between six European signatory countries, namely Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Following the 1955 Messina Conference during which the foreign affairs ministers of the Six recognized the advantages of expanding economic integration into other sectors, the Treaties of Rome were signed in 1957 which established the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC). These treaties dismantled trade barriers, established a common market and engaged the signatories in greater economic integration. It was foreseen that the common market would require the progressive removal of barriers to trade and mobility between the Member States, the introduction of common commercial and agricultural policies and common external tariffs on imports from other countries. A step in this direction was indeed made in 1968 when the EEC created a unified system of Customs control.

In 1967, the institutions of the three European communities were merged and a single Commission, Council of Ministers and the European Parliament were created. A significant step towards supranationalism was taken in 1979 when the first direct elections for the European Parliament were held. Since then, direct European Parliament elections have been held at five year intervals.
The Single European Act (SEA) of 1987 introduced the Single Market and consequently removed artificial trade barriers between Member States thereby ensuring that people could move, live and work freely in any Member State while the freedom of movement of goods, capital and services was guaranteed. The Treaty also set the objectives of coordinated action in the environment, research and development, economic and social cohesion areas and the further development of the Economic Monetary System.
The Treaty of Maastricht, which came into force in 1993, introduced new forms of co-operation between the Member States, particularly cooperation in defence and in the area of justice and home affairs. In so doing, it created a three-pillar structure which combined the community system and inter-governmental co-operation into a single European Union (EU).
With respect to the decision-making process, the Maastricht Treaty gave the European Parliament the power of co-decision with the Council in a limited number of areas such as research, health and culture. In other areas, the European Parliament was empowered either to amend the Council's draft legislation (the so-called cooperation procedure) or to withhold its assent for Council decisions (this was/is the case with decisions on the Structural and Cohesion Funds, Treaties of Accession and others).
Another significant development brought about by the Treaty of Maastricht was the economic and monetary union (EMU) which paved the way towards the introduction of a single European currency managed by a European Central Bank. Ten years later, the EURO  the single currency - became a reality, with Euro notes and coins replacing national currencies in twelve of the then 15 Member States of the European Union.
The Treaty of Maastricht also introduced other important measures, such as Social Policy via its Social Protocol and introduced the concept of European citizenship which recognised nationals of any Member State as citizens of the Union.
The Treaty of Amsterdam consolidated the three pillars established by the Maastricht Treaty and extended the number of areas in which decisions could only to be taken by a qualified majority in the Council of Ministers, with the rule of unanimity remaining applicable with respect to constitutional matters and to highly sensitive areas like taxation. It also increased Parliament's responsibilities by rendering the co-decision procedure practically the general rule. The cooperation procedure is confined to the economic and monetary union, while the assent procedure is applied to particular cases, such as applications for membership of the Union.
The Treaty of Amsterdam includes a chapter on employment, with each Member State required to fit its employment policy into a coordinated European strategy, bringing the social and economic spheres together. This was also secured by the incorporation of social policy into the Treaty. The Treaty also sought to ensure increased freedom of movement through the removal of border controls between Member States.
In February 2001 the Treaty of Nice laid down new rules governing the size and decision-making process of the EU institutions. In anticipation of the EUs expansion following the accession of other States, it stream-lined the size and structure of the EU Commission, re-distributed the number of votes allocated to Member States in the Council in view of a fairer population representation and changed the number of seats in the European Parliament to reflect the increase in the number of Member States. The Treaty of Nice came into force in February 2003.