European Union
From Emissions Wiki
The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental and supranational union of 25 democratic member states. The European Union was established under that name in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty).
The Union currently has a common single market consisting of a customs union, a single currency (the Euro) managed by the European Central Bank (so far adopted by 12 of the 25 member states), a Common Agricultural Policy, a common trade policy, and a Common Fisheries Policy. A Common Foreign and Security Policy was also established as the second of the three pillars of the European Union. The Schengen Agreement abolished passport control, and customs checks were also abolished at many of the EU's internal borders, creating a single space of mobility for EU citizens to live, travel, work and invest.
Member States
On 23 July 1952 six founding members formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was transformed into the European Community, later renamed to European Union in waves of accession as follows:
| Date | History of Country's Membership |
|---|---|
| 25 March 1957 | Founding members: Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands |
| 1 January 1973 | Denmark, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom |
| 1 January 1981 | Greece |
| 1 January 1986 | Portugal, Spain |
| 3 October 1990 | (The territory of the former German Democratic Republic as part of unified Germany also becomes part of the European Community) |
| 1 January 1995 | Austria, Finland, Sweden |
| 1 May 2004 | Cyprus1, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia |
Notes:
- Greenland, which was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979, left the European Community in 1985, following a referendum.
- Bulgaria and Romania are scheduled to become members on 1 January 2007.
- Several overseas territories and dependencies have close associations with particular EU member states, for example Greenland, the Isle of Man, the Azores and Madeira. (See special member state territories and their relations with the EU)
- 1 European jurisdiction is not currently enforced in Northern Cyprus.
