History of European Union
European integration
• = Political, legal, economic integration within Europe
• EI has a long history, many attempts to unify Europe,
usually by force or by dynastic unions
• Nowadays
– peaceful integration
– law is the instrument of integration
– International organization are the basis for integration
• Most important: EC/EU and CoE, but also many
others on both East and West of Europe
Schuman declaration – foundation
of European Communities
• 9 May 1950 – Schuman declaration
• 18 April 1951 (23 July 1952) - the ECSC Treaty in Paris
• ECSC :
– common market in steel and coal,
– jurisdiction has the High Authority, not MS
• European Defense Community and European Political
Community failed due to French no
• 25 March 1957 (1 January 1958) – the Treaties of
Rome (EEC and EURATOM)
“Inner six” and “outer seven”
• “inner six” = EC - Belgium, France, West Germany,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands
• “outer seven” = EFTA - Austria, Denmark, Norway,
Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• EEC – form of cooperation between EFTA and EC
• Difference between EC and EFTA (or any other IO):
– Scope of coop. – well, yeas, but in fact NOT really
– Form of coop. – YES!
Intergovernmental vs.
Supranational coop.
• Supranationalism
– = a method of decision-making in multi-national political
communities, wherein power is transferred to an authority
broader than governments of member states
– rules can be made in the EC which have a direct impact on
the Member States and thereby also a direct effect on the
citizens of the Member States.
• Intergovernmentalism:
– the traditional form of international cooperation between
counties
– States are primary and supreme actors in the international
process
Further economic development of
the Communities
• FTA
• Customs Union
• Common market
• Internal Market
• Economic and monetary union
From common to single market
• In 80’s the possibility of further integration
under the current Treaties was exhausted.
• 1985 – the Commission published the White
paper on the completion of the internal
market
• 1986 - Single European Act as the legislative
instrument for changes
– Most important achievement – Art. 95 EC Treaty
From economic to political
cooperation
• 1993 - Maastricht Treaty came into force
•  the European Union as an economic and
political union has been established
• Union has 3 pillars:
– Communities
– foreign affairs
– justice and internal affairs
– Maastricht Treaty has changed the name of the
EEC - now EC
European Union – Further
Development
• European Union – a compromise solution
• 1997 - the Treaty of Amsterdam
• 2000 – the Treaty of Nice
• 2004 - the Treaty establishing a Constitution
for Europe
• 2007 – Lisbon Treaty
Geographic Enlargement of EC/EU
• Founded by Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and
Netherlands.
• 1973 - Great Britain, together with Ireland and Denmark
• 1981 - Greece
• 1986 - Portugal with Spain
• 1995 - Austria, Finland and Sweden
• 2004 - Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus
• 2007 - Bulgaria and Romania
• 2013 - Croatia
• In future – may be Iceland, Croatia and some other Balkan
states, as well as Turkey
Accession criteria
• Political
• Economic and
• Legislative
Conclusion
• IO is currently the most suitable platform for integration. Being a member of an IO does not
deprive the state of its sovereignty;
• After WW2 a number of IO have been established in both Western and Eastern Europe. Their
objectives were usually economic and/or security;
• European Communities were initially 3, now two IO founded in order to achieve economic
and security objectives. Supranationality makes them unique;
• In addition to Communities in 1992/1993 the European Union was established. European
Union does not replace them. Communities remain part of the EU as its substantial part;
• EU was not (until the Lisbon Treaty came into force) an IO. It was an entity based on a Treaty
on European Union;
• EU used to cover 3 pillars - Communities, common foreign and security policy and police and
judicial cooperation in criminal matters
• method of cooperation is different in each of the pillars. Supranationality applies only in the
first pillar whereas the others are intergovernmental;
• The Treaty of Amsterdam transferred some of the issues covered by the third pillar to the
first pillar of the EU;
• The Lisbon Treaty has caused that the EC was absorbed by the European Union. The pillar
structure exists no more. This change has not affected EURATOM;