History of the European Union Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History of the European Union - Essay Example This Schuman Declaration was adhered by six states, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, thus forming the European Coal and Steel Community on 1951(EU Timeline). This community placed Franco-German steel production under a common "High Authority", putting into effect an intergovernmental cooperation with supranational authority (McGoldrick, 9). Treaties were signed as well to establish European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community. With an enhanced institutionalized nature, the European Economic Community had four main bodies namely the Council of Ministers, European Commission, Court of Justice and Parliamentary Assembly (McGoldrick, 10). Up until 1985, the Community increased the number of its members progressively; Greece was actually the 10th member of this group. The now ten members of the group agreed in a European Council meeting held at Luxembourg to revitalize the process of European integration by drawing up the Single European Act (EU Timeline). The Act as could be seen, extended EC competence, made greater provision for qualified majority voting and laid down the objective of achieving an internal market by 1992 (McGoldrick, 10). Subsequent years witnessed further enlargement of the community and at the same time deeper integration of the Community. For example, with the German unification, the Community had to agree on a common approach to the effects of such event and its relations with Central and Eastern European countries as well. So that in a European Council held at Ireland, they concurred to establish the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the mechanism that would provide financial s upport to Central and Eastern European Countries. At some point, they even reached a decision to establish the European Economic Area between the EEC and EFTA member countries (EU Timeline). While economic goals were apparently met, political goals remained unfulfilled (McGoldrick, 12). On February 7 of 1992, the Treaty of European Union was signed in Maastricht by the Foreign and Finance Ministers of the member states, and while the ratification of the said treaty was voted against when put into referendum in Denmark, it was eventually ratified the second time and the treaty came into force on November 1993. The European Community formally evolved to the European Union. Earlier that year, on January, the Single European Market entered into force and accession of more states ensued (EU Timeline). Changes were introduced upon the evolution of the Community to the Union. The structure of the treaty of the European Union organized the Union's activities in three fields or subsequently called three pillars: European Community, Common Foreign and Security Policy and Judicial and Home Affairs (McGoldrick, 16). The European Union also introduced the subsidiary policy, in which the EU would only take action if