E.U.

Law_Course 1_The History of European Union

Pre-1945 influeences
Attempts to unify the disparate nations of Europe precede the modern nation-states and have
occurred repeatedly throughout the history of Continental Europe since the collapse of the
Mediterranean-centred Roman Empire. Europes heterogeneous collection of languages and cultures
made attempts based on dynastic rights, or enforced through military occupation of unwilling nations,
unstable and doomed to failure.
The Frankish empire of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire united large areas under a loose
administration for hundreds of years.
Once Arabs had conquered ancient centres of Christianity in Syria and Egypt during the 8th century,
the concept of Christendom became essentially a concept of a unified Europe, but always more of an
ideal than an actuality. The Great Schism between Orthodoxy and Catholicism rendered the idea of
Christendom moot.
After the Fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, the first proposal for peaceful methods of
unifying Europe against a common enemy emerged. George of Podebrady, a Hussite king
of Bohemia proposed the creation of a union of Christian nations against the Turks in 1464.
In 1569, the Union of Lublin transformed the Polish-Lithuanian personal union into the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, a multi-national federation and elective monarchy, which lasted until
the partitions of Poland in 1795.
In 1728, Abbot Charles de Saint-Pierre proposed the creation of a European league of 18
sovereign states, with common treasury, no borders and an economic union.
After the American Revolution of 1776 the vision of a United States of Europe similar to the United
States

of

America was

shared

by

some

prominent

Europeans,

notably

the Marquis

de

Lafayette and Tadeusz Kociuszko.

Some suggestion of a European union can be found in Immanuel Kants 1795 proposal for an
eternal peace congress.
In the 1800s, customs union under Napoleon Bonapartes Continental system was promulgated in
November 1806 as an embargo of British goods in the interests of French hegemony. It demonstrated
the workability and also the flaws of a supranational economic system for Europe.
In

the

conservative

reaction

after

Napoleons

defeat

in 1815,

the German

Confederation (GermanDeutscher Bund) was established as a loose association of thirty-eight

German states formed by theCongress of Vienna. Napoleon had swept away the Holy Roman
Empire and simplified the map of Germany. The German Confederation was an association of
independent, equal sovereign nation states.
In 1834,

the Zollverein (German

customs

union)

was

formed

among

the

Confederation, in order to create better trade flow and reduce internal competition.

states

of

the

Italian writer and politician Giuseppe Mazzini called for the creation of a federation of European
republics in1843. This set the stage for perhaps, the best known early proposal for peaceful
unification,

through

cooperation

and

equality

of

membership,

made

by

the pacifist Victor

Hugo in 1847. Hugo spoke in favour of the idea at a peace congress organised by Mazzini, but was
laughed out of the hall. However, he returned to his idea again in 1851.
Following the catastrophe of the First World War, some thinkers and visionaries again began to float
the idea of a politically unified Europe.
In 1923, the Austrian Count Coudenhove-Kalergi founded the Pan-Europa movement and hosted
the First Paneuropean Congress, held in Vienna in 1926.
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi :Europe as a political concept does not exist. This part of the world
includes nations and states installed in the chaos, in a barrel of gunpowder of international conflicts, in
a field of future conflicts. This is the European Question: the mutual hate of the Europeans that
poisons the atmosphere. (.) The European Question will only be solved by means of the union of
Europes nations. () The biggest obstacle to the accomplishment of the United States of Europe is
the one thousand years old rivalry between the two most populated nations of Pan-Europe: Germany
and France
In 1929, Aristide Briand, French prime minister, gave a speech in the presence of the League of
NationsAssembly in which he proposed the idea of a federation of European nations based on solidarity
and in the pursuit of economic prosperity and political and social co-operation. Many eminent
economists, among themJohn Maynard Keynes, supported this view. At the Leagues request Briand
presented a Memorandum on the organisation of a system of European Federal Union in 1930.
In 1931 the French politician Edouard Herriot published the book The United States of Europe.
The Great Depression, the rise of fascism and subsequently World War II prevented this inter war
movement gaining further support.
In 1940, following Germanys military successes in World War II and planning for the creation of a
thousand

year Empire,

European confederation was

proposed

by

German

economists

and

industrialists. They argued for a European economic community, with a customs union and fixed
internal exchange rates.
In 1943, the German ministers Joachim von Ribbentrop and Cecil von Renthe-Fink eventually
proposed the creation of a European confederacy, which would have had a single currency, a central
bank in Berlin, a regional principle, a labour policy and economic and trading agreements.
Arthur Seyss-Inquart said: The new Europe of solidarity and co-operation among all its people will
find

rapidly

increasing

prosperity

once

national

economic

boundaries

are

removed, while

the Vichy French MinisterJacques Benoist-Mechin said that France had to abandon nationalism
and take place in the European community with honour.
These pan-European illusions from the early 1940s were never realised because of Germanys defeat.
Neither Hitler, nor many of his leading hierarchs such as Goebbels, had the slightest intention of
compromising absolute German hegemony through the creation of a European confederation. Nazi

ideas of an integrated Europe based on conquest and lacking a democratic structure can not be seen
as true predecessors of the European Union.
In Britain the group known as Federal Union was launched in November 1938, and began advocating a
Federal Union of Europe as a post-war aim.
In 1943, Jean

Monnet a

member

of

the

National

Liberation

Committee

of

the Free

French government in exile in Algiers, and regarded by many as the future architect of European unity,
is recorded as declaring to the committee: There will be no peace in Europe, if the states are
reconstituted on the basis of national sovereignty The countries of Europe are too small to guarantee
their peoples the necessary prosperity and social development. The European states must constitute
themselves into a federation
In 1946, the former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pronounced a celebrated speech at
Zurich University (Switzerland). It was considered by many people as the first step towards European
integration in the postwar period.
I wish to speak to you today about the tragedy of Europe. () Yet all the while there is a remedy
which, if it were generally and spontaneously adopted by the great majority of people in many lands,
would as if by a miracle transform the whole scene, and would in a few years make all Europe, or the
greater part of it, as free and as happy as Switzerland is today. What is this sovereign remedy? It is to
recreate the European Family, or as much of it as we can, and to provide it with a structure under
which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom. We must build a kind of United States of Europe.
() The first step in the recreation of the European Family must be a partnership between France and
Germany.
Winston

Churchill

Speech at Zurich University

The three communities
The European Union grew out of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was
founded

in1951,

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 creation of what is now the
European Union, which later chose to celebrate May 9 as Europe Day.
The British were invited to participate in it, but refused on grounds of national sovereignty; thus the
six went ahead alone.

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). The purpose of the EPC would have been to establish a federation of European
states; and the EDC would have been to establish a common European army, under joint control, so
that West Germany could be safely permitted to rearm and help counter the Soviet threat. This vision
was however short-lived as theFrench National Assembly technically refused to ratify the EDC treaty
and led to its eventual abandonment. After the failure of the EDC treaty, the EPC was quietly shelved.
The idea of both institutions can be seen to live on, in a watered down form, in later developments,
such asEuropean Political Co-operation (also called EPC), the Common Foreign and Security
Policy (CFSP)

pillar

established

by

the Maastricht

treaty,

and

the European

Rapid

Reaction

Force currently in formation.

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), and the European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom). The 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 January 1, 1958.

Enlargement of the EU
1973
1973: 9 member states. The United Kingdom, Denmark (with Greenland but not the Faroe Islands)
andIreland join. Greenland left in 1985.
In January 1960, Britain and other OEEC members who didnt belong to the EEC formed an
alternative association, the European Free Trade Association. But Britain soon realised that the
EEC was more successful than the EFTA and decided to apply for membership. Ireland and Denmark,
both of whom being heavily reliant on British trade, decided they would go wherever Britain went, and
hence also applied to join the Community. Norway also applied at this time.
The first application occurred in August 1961 under the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan,
who was more favourable to Britain joining the EEC than his predecessors. Negotiations started in
November 1961 and a provisional agreement was reached in July 1962. However, Britains
membership was vetoed by French president Charles De Gaulle in January 1963 (all EEC founding
members had this right). Officially, De Gaulle said that Britain was not sufficiently European-minded
yet to break away from the Commonwealth and accept a common agricultural policy. But other
reasons include Britains close relationship with the US in terms of defence (see Nassau agreement)
and De Gaulles fear that Britains membership would be followed by many other countries joining the
EEC, thus making the community lose its cohesion. De Gaulle refused an Atlantic Europe. As a
result, the whole negotiations with the four countries broke off.

The second application occurred under the Labour government of Harold Wilson. Wilson said in April
1966 that Britain was ready to apply for EEC membership if essential British interests were
safeguarded. Negotiations started on May 1967 with the four countries but De Gaulle used once again
his right of veto in September 1967. Officially, De Gaulle said that Britain had to improve its economy
but he actually still feared that Britain would act as the US trojan horse. The whole negotiation broke
off once again, and it seemed that Britain wouldnt be able to join the EEC as long as De Gaulle would
be president.
The third and last application occurred after De Gaulle resigned in 1969 and was replaced by Georges
Pompidou. In October 1969, the European Commission asked for new negotiations concerning the
applications of the four countries. In November 1969, during a meeting of the foreign ministers of
the EC(EEC, ECSC and Euratom had

merged

into

the

EC

in

1967),

French

minister Maurice

Schumann declared that France would agree to Britains membership if questions of agricultural
finance were settled first. Negotiations started in June 1970 under the Conservative government
of Edward Heath, who was one of the most strongly pro-European politicians in Britain. Britain agreed
to the conditions of the EC: Britain had to accept the Merger Treaty and all decisions taken since the
second application, and resolve its problem of adaptation, i.e. conflicts between the EC and
the Commonwealth. Finally, Britain joined successfully on January 1, 1973. In 1972, Ireland
(application from July 1961), Denmark (application from August 1961), Norway (application from April
1962) held referenda on whether to join.
The results were:
Ireland 83.1% in favour (May 10) (see also: Third Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland)
Norway 46.5% in favour (September 25)
Denmark 63.3% in favour (October 2)
Following the rejection by the Norwegian electorate (53.5% against), Norway did not join, an event
that was to be repeated again twenty years later, when the government proposed joining along with
Austria, Sweden and Finland.
1980s
1981: 10 member states. Greece joins.
1985: Greenland leaves.
1986: 12 member states. Spain and Portugal join.
Greece submitted application in June 1975 and joined on January 1, 1981, under the presidency
ofConstantine Caramanlis.
In 1985, Denmarks territory Greenland left the union following home rule and a referendum.
See Special member state territories and their relations with the EU for details.

In 1986, Spain and Portugal joined. Portugal submitted application in March 1977 and Spain in July
1977. This was one of the first times the member states began to consider the problems of
immigration from new and poorer applicant nations. The German, French and British press all
circulated stories predicting uncontrollable immigration from the new members, flooding the labour
market, lowering wages, and causing racial problems. The same year (February), the Single European
Act was signed in Luxembourg.
Such a fear didnt materialise, but a similar concern for the possibility of uncontrolled immigration was
to occur again preceding the 2004 enlargement.
1993
The Copenhagen criteria are the rules that define whether a nation is eligible to join the European
Union. The Criteria require that a nation-state have the institutions to forward and preserve
democratic governance, human rights, a functioning coordinated market economy, and accept the
obligations and intent of the EU. These membership Criteria were drawn and established at the June
1993 European Council in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Except from the Copenhagen Presidency conclusions:Membership requires that the candidate country
has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and
respect for and, protection of minorities, the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the
capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. Membership
presupposes the candidates ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to
the aims of political, economic and monetary union.
Most of these elements have been enshirined over the last decade by legislation of the European
Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as by the jurisprudence of
the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
During the negotiations with each candidate country, progress towards meeting the Copenhagen
Criteria is regularly monitored. On the basis of this, decisions are made as to whether and when a
particular country should join, or what actions need to be taken before membership realisation.
The Copenhagen Criteria are divided into three groups geographic, political and economic.
The Criteria are held in a lengthy, eighty thousand-page document. An example of the broad over
arching changes the Criteria dictates is illustrated by the fact that it will take Turkey a minimum of 10
years to implement all 80 000 pages.
1995
1990: Reunification

of

1995: 15 member states. Austria, Finland and Sweden join.

The 1994 referenda on membership were as follows:
Austria 66.6% in favour (June 12); application submitted in July 1989

Germany.

Finland 56.9% in favour (October 16); application submitted in March 1992 (separate referendum
held inland)
Sweden 52.8% in favour (November 13); application submitted in July 1991
Norway 43.1% in favour (November 28); application submitted in December 1992
Austria, Sweden and Finland (with land) were admitted on January 1, 1995. As the referendum in
Norway was 52.2% against joining, the proposal by the Norwegian government to join was rejected
for the second time.
With

the

departure

of Austria, Sweden and Finland to

the

EU,

only Norway, Iceland, Switzerland andLiechtenstein remain members of the EFTA.

2004
2004:

25

member

states. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,

the Czech

Republic, Hungary, Slovakia,Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus join.

The European Commissions Strategic Report of October 9, 2002 recommended 10 candidate members
for

inclusion

in

the

EU

in 2004: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,

the Czech

Republic, Hungary, Slovakia,Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus. Their combined population is roughly 75
million; their combined Gross Domestic Product was about 840 billion US dollars (purchasing power
parity; CIA World Factbook 2003), similar in size to that of Spain.
While the EU has enlarged several times in the past, never before had an enlargement round included
so many countries and with such strikingly different levels of economic and domestic political
development, not to mention different historical and cultural backgrounds. Many of the candidates had
only just begun building democracies and had not finalized their transition to a market economy.
Culturally and linguistically, this enlargement greatly increased the number of languages spoken within
the EU, reflecting the increased cultural heterogeneity and level of diversity in the EU. Also, although
several of the previous enlargement rounds in EU history have included the accession of countries
whose average GDP per capita was lower than that of the EUs, never had the difference been this
great nor had the enlargement included so many countries.
This could therefore be called one of the most ambitious enlargements of the European Union yet. On
the side of the European Union it was partly motivated by a desire to reunite Europe after the end of
the Cold War, and an effort to tie Eastern Europe firmly to the West in order to prevent it falling again
into communism or dictatorship.
The first stage of negotiations took place among the then current 15 member states when they agreed
upon a common negotiating position regarding the terms of accession with which to approach the
candidates. The second stage of negotiations occurred between the EU and the candidate states, when
these terms were discussed and revised.
Cyprus was made a candidate for admission because Greece threatened to veto the enlargement
unless Cyprus was also allowed to be a part of it. The prospect of membership for the island also led
to a significant (but eventually failed) push for reunification through the Annan Plan for Cyprus.

After negotiations between the candidates and the member states, the final decision to invite these
nations

to

join

was

announced

on December

13, 2002 in Copenhagen,

with

the European

Parliamentvoting in favour of this on April 9, 2003.

On April 16, 2003 the Treaty of Accession was signed by the 10 new members and the 15 old ones
inAthens.
The final remaining step was the ratification of the treaty by the current member states and by each of
the candidate nations. Ratification in the former was done by the parliaments of the member states
alone, whereas in the latter the ratification was first subject to a referendum, except for Cyprus where
the parliament was solely responsible. The 2003 referenda dates (in four of the countries, a two-day
ballot is held), and the outcomes in each of the candidate countries, are as follows:
Malta 54% in favour (March 8)
Slovenia 90% in favour (March 23)
Hungary 83% in favour (April 12)
Lithuania 91% in favour (May 10-11)
Slovakia 92% in favour (May 16-17)
Poland 77% in favour (June 7-8)
Czech Republic 77% in favour (June 13-14)
Estonia 67% in favour (September 14)
Latvia 67% in favour (September 20)
In the event that one of the referenda did not return an affirmative result, provision had been made
for the enlargement to carry on without that country. However, the referenda results were all in favour
of joining, ratification proceeded without problems and the candidate countries became full members
of the EU on May 1, 2004.
2007
2007: 27 member states. Bulgaria and Romania join
Bulgaria and Romania completed negotiation talks on December 14, 2004 and joined the Union
on January 1, 2007. The Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania was signed on April 25, 2005,
in Luxembourggiving the legislative bodies of the 25 EU-member states a year and a half to ratify the
treaties.
On May 11, 2005 the Bulgarian National Assembly ratified the Treaty of Accession with the European
Union. Two votes were held by the 240 member Parliament.
First reading: 230 in favour, 1 against and 2 abstentions
Second reading: 231 in favour, 1 against and 2 abstentions
On May 17, 2005 a joint session of the Romanian Senate and Chamber of Deputies ratified the Treaty
of Accession with the European Union. The vote was held by the 469 member upper and lower houses.
Results: 434 in favour, 0 against and 0 abstentions