| 1951 |
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
– the six – sign the Treaty of Paris establishing the European
Coal & Steel Community (ECSC) |
| 1957 |
The six sign the Treaty of Rome1 establishing the European Economic Community
(EEC) and European Atomic Energy Commission (EURATOM) |
| 1961 |
Association Agreement signed with Greece |
| 1963 |
EEC Association Agreement signed with Turkey |
| 1970 |
Malta signs the Association Agreement with the EEC |
| 1972 |
The Treaties of Accession to the European Community (EC) of Denmark,
Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom are signed. Norway withdraws following
a referendum in September Cyprus signs the Association Agreement with
the EEC
|
| 1973 |
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the EC |
| 1981 |
Greece becomes the tenth member state of the EC |
| 1981 |
Greece becomes the tenth member state of the EC |
| 1987 |
Turkey applies for EC membership |
| 1989 |
Malta and Cyprus apply for EU membership |
| 1990 |
Germany is reunited on the 3rd of October, and the territories of the
former German Democratic Republic become part of the EC |
| 1991 |
The Europe Agreements are signed with Hungary and Poland. Interim agreements
are put in place in order to start to set up a free trade area. The Europe
Agreements come into force on 1 February 1994 |
| 1992 |
The Treaty on European Union (EU)2 is signed in Maastricht, amending and
supplementing the Treaty of Rome |
| 1993 |
Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia sign Europe Agreements
At Copenhagen, the European Council sets accession criteria for the applicant
countries
|
| 1994 |
Hungary and Poland apply to join the EC |
| 1995 |
Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU, increasing the number of member
states from 12 to 15 Europe Agreements are signed with Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania
Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Bulgaria apply for
EU membership
|
| 1996 |
Slovenia and the Czech Republic sign Europe Agreements Both countries
apply for EU membership
|
| 1997 |
The Treaty of Amsterdam3 is signed, adding further changes to the Treaty
of Rome |
| 1998 |
Accession process of ten CEEC’s plus Cyprus begins, followed by
accession negotiations in the form of bilateral Intergovernmental Conferences
with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia On
May 28th, the EU and the candidate countries sign a pre-Accession Pact
on organised crime in preparation for enlargement
New government in Malta reactivates its application for EU membership
|
| 1999 |
The Helsinki European Council agrees to open the accession negotiations
with a further six candidate countries: Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Romania and Slovakia, and confirms Turkey as a candidate destined to join
the EU |
| 2000 |
Membership negotiations begin with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta,
Romania and Slovakia Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Yugoslavia are declared ‘potential
candidates’ for membership at the Santa Maria da Feira European
Council
|
| 2001 |
Laeken European Council (December 2001) named Cyprus, the Czech Rep,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia
as the most likely for early accession and scheduled early 2004 as the timetable
for accession
The Treaty of Nice4 is signed on 26 February 2001, and entered
into force on 1 February 2003. The Treaty of Nice, the former Treaty of
the EU and the Treaty of the EC have been merged into one consolidated
version.
|
| 2003 |
EU accession treaty5 is signed in Athens, Greece on April 16th |
| 2004 |
Accession of the ten new member states to the EU on May 1st |
Disclaimer - Contact