European Union was born after the WWII in 1950, with the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community. The first six countries joining it are Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Luxemburg and Netherlands. Over the years the ECSC got many updates, first becoming the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957 and later being named European Union. Nowadays the EU comprehends 27 states, and some others like Ukraine and Turkey, are willing to join the Union. Let's have a look at the most important treaties and evolution steps of the European Union.
1950
1951
Treaty of Paris
Foundation of ECSC, first step towards today's EU.
1957
Treaty of Rome
Foundation of EEC, also known as 'Common Market'.
1986
Single European Act
Provided the basis for a programme aimed at creating a 'free flow market' in Europe.
1993
Maastricht Treaty
Prepared the EU for the Monetary Union and introduced elements of political union.
1999
Amsterdam Treaty
Reformed EU institutions for the arrival of future member countries.
2009
Treaty of Lisbon
Made EU more democratic, efficient and better able to address global problems with one voice
The Major Institutions
European Parliament
Has legislative power. It decides on International agreements, reviews the Commission’s work program and is directly elected by EU voters every five years.
European Council
Is formed by a group of heads of state or government and it defines political orientation and priorities of the EU.
Council of the EU
Consists of government ministers from each EU country who meet to discuss, amend or adopt legislation and coordinate policies. It's one of the main decision-making bodies of the EU.
Court of Justice
Has the role of ensuring that the rules are interpreted and applied in the same way in every European country.
European Central Bank
Is the central bank of the states that use euro, it controls the monetary policy in that zone.
The GDPR
How does Europe protect its citizens' data?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most severe privacy and security law in the world. In short it describes all the precautions that companies that want to operate in European territory must follow, as well as containing all the rights and duties of companies and above all of European citizens, with regards to the protection of their privacy and their data.
