History of the EU - time periods only

Question 1

The 50’s: from one to three communities

Answer 1

After the 6 member states had ratified the treaty of Paris, the ECSC started operation in July 1952, with Jean Monnet as the first president of the High Authority.

Question 2

The 60’s: progress and setbacks

Answer 2

Of the three communities the EEC turned out to be the most energetic: Progress on the elimination of customs duties (tariffs, charges levied on imports or exports) was ahead of schedule and the Commission managed to complete this three years earlier than planned.

Question 3

The early years of the 70’s were difficult, not least because of the economic crisis.

Answer 3

The economic setbacks seemed to generate a retreat from European cooperation with member states unwilling to move ahead with integrative steps.

In the end of the 70’s the pessimism gave way to renewed confidence

A couple of small developments would provide the foundation for more significant integrative steps in the decades to come:

The Treaty of Luxembourg was signed
The UK, Ireland and Denmark joined
The European Council was developed

Question 4

The 80’s: moves towards a single market

Answer 4

Customs duties might have been abolished, but there were so many other barriers that a truly single marked did not exist yet.
- A new commission took office, which made the single market one of its key ambitions.
- In 1986 the Single European Act (SEA) was signed.

Question 5

The 90’s: The road towards European Union

Answer 5

The project of completing the single market proved to be successful and led to renewed attention to achieving further integration in the fields of economic and monetary policies.

• The treaty of Maastricht broadened the areas that would be part of Community policies, including a timetable to introduce a single currency, the Euro.
• The UK and Denmark negotiated opt-outs and hence were enabled to keep their own currency
• 90’s witnessed important developments in terms of enlargement: During the decades of the Cold War Austria, Sweden and Finland had decided not to apply for membership because they wanted to maintain their neutrality. With the fall of the Berlin wall this was no longer needed.

Question 6

The 2000’s: Further enlargements, difficult treaty revisions and the beginning of a financial crisis.

Answer 6

• Although there were large disparities in the readiness of different CEECs (Central and Eastern European Countries) for membership, political considerations made it desirable to arrange for a timetable that would result in allowing as many countries as possible to join at the same time.
• The first decade of 2010 was characterized by a lengthy period of revision of the treaties. The Treaty of Amsterdam had left many issues unresolved and necessitated a new round of modifications that resulted in the Treaty of Nice in 2001.