European Union:

The European Union grew out of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was founded in 195 1, by the six founding members: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg  (the Benelux countries) and West Germany, France  and  Italy.  Its purpose was to pool the steel and coal resources of the member states,  thus preventing another European war. It was in fulfilment  of a plan developed by a French  civil servant Jean Monnet, publicised by the French foreign minister Robert Schuman. On May 9,1950 Schuman presented his proposal  on  the  creation  of an organised Europe  stating  that  it was indispensable  to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as  the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of  the creationof what is now the European Union, which later chose to celebrate May 9 as Europe Day.

The ECSC was  followed by attempts, by  the same member-states and with much encouragement from NATO, to found a European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Political Community (EPC). Following the failure of the EDC and EPC, the six founding members tried again at  furthering their integration, and founded the European Economic Community (EEC). purpose of the EEC was to establish a customs union among  the six founding members, based  on  the  "four freedoms":  freedom of movement  of goods,services, capital and people. Euratom was to pool  the non-military .nuclear resources of the states. The EEC was by  far the  most important of the three communities,  so much  so that  it was  later renamed simply  the European  Community.  It was established by the Treaty  of Rome of 1957 and  implemented January1958.

The growth of  these European  Communities into what  is currently  the European Union can be said to consist of two patallel  processes -  first their structural evolution and  institutional change into  a tighter bloc with more competences given  to the supranational level, which can be called the processof European integration  or the deepening  of  the Union. The other  is the  enlargement of  the European Communities (and later European Union) from 6 to 25 member states, which is also called the widening of the Union.

In January 1960, Britain and other OEEC members who didn't belong to the EEC formed an alternative association, the European Free Trade Association But Britain soon  realised  that the EEC wsls more successful  than the EFTA and decided to apply for membership. From an original EC membership of 6 in 1958,  the EU has gradually expanded and as  of 1 May 2004, there are total 25 Member States. There have been four enlargements since 1958:

1973  - to include Denmark, Ireland, and the UK.
1981 - to include Greece.
1986  - to include Spain and Portugal.
1995 - to include Austria, Finland and Sweden.

A historic achievement was marked on 1 May 2094, when ten countries joined the  existing  fifteen Member States of the European Union, uniting the continent after decades of division. On that  day, Cyprus, Czech Republic Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and  Slovenia joined  the EU as  new member States.

In 1992, the Maastricht treaty was signed, which at the same time modified the Treaty of Rome.  It  established the European Union, turning  the European Communities into the EU's  so-called "first-pillar",  and  adding two further pillars of cooperation, on Common Foreign and Security Policy and on Justice and Home Affairs. At  the same time it  established Economic and Monetary Union as a formal objective. The Maastricht treaty came into force in 1993.

The European Economic Area was founded in 1994 in order to allow EFTA countries to participate in the Single Market without having to  join the EU. In 1997,  the Treaty of Amsterdam was signed, which updated the Maastricht treaty and aimed to make the EU more democratic.

In  January 1999, eleven countries (Austria, the Benelux countries, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and  Spain) agreed to join the euro and  abandon their existing currencies.  Greece joined  two years later,  in January 2001, bringing the members of the eurozone  to twelve. On January 1, 2002, Euro notes  and  coins entered circulation.

The EU is considered to be the most telling example of a customs  union and  a monetary  and  economic union. However,  due to differences among  its members problems lie ahead such as in the case of the Euro, which does not have full membership.