So I'm sure you haven't missed all the talk about "BrExit" in the week gone by. While this has deeper repercussions aross the world, this week's general knowledge nugget will look at which countries make up the European Union and a brief history of the EU. Because let’s face it, the EU will never be the same again, and it'll be great for you to know a bit about the background of the EU, since everyone around you will be talking about it for a few days. (I won’t be getting into the pros & cons of the EU, because then this will become a really long message).
After the devastating 2nd world war, 6 European countries (Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg & the Netherlands) got together in 1951 to sign an economic treaty to run their heavy industries under a common management (Called the European Coal & Steel Community). The idea was simple - to unite the countries politically & economically so that there will be lasting peace all across Europe. They later signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957 to form the European Economic Community (EEC), which was the predecessor of the EU. The idea behind the EEC was to allow free movement of people, goods & services across borders. Slowly over the years more and more countries joined in.
In 1985, the Schengen Treaty was signed in Schengen, Luxembourg (which is where the name of the visa came from), which allowed citizens of EU countries to travel across the countries without passport control.
In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty was signed which formally established the “European Union” and created a European Citizenship. In 1999, the Euro was introduced in 11 countries for commercial & financial transactions – so no cash notes & coins yet. Those were introduced in 2002.
In 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed which aimed to make the EU more democratic, efficient and transparent.
Overall the EU is like a single country, made up of 28 states (which are actually the member countries). It has its own Parliament, Court of Justice, European Central Bank and other institutions.
Off late the EU has come under fire because the financial crises of some member states end up putting pressure on other members. Similarly immigrants coming into 1 member state get access to all EU countries which again puts pressure on all the other countries.
Below is a list of the 28 (now 27) countries that make up the EU & the year they joined. It also mentions the 19 that use the Euro as their currency.
Belgium (1958) - Euro
France (1958) - Euro
Germany (1958) - Euro
Italy (1958) - Euro
Luxembourg (1958) - Euro
Netherlands (1958) - Euro
Denmark (1973)
Ireland (1973) - Euro
United Kingdom (1973) - Now exiting
Greece (1981) - Euro
Portugal (1986) - Euro
Spain (1986) - Euro
Austria (1995) - Euro
Finland (1995) - Euro
Sweden (1995)
Cyprus (2004) - Euro
Czech Republic (2004)
Estonia (2004) - Euro
Hungary (2004)
Latvia (2004) - Euro
Lithuania (2004) - Euro
Malta (2004) - Euro
Poland (2004)
Slovakia (2004) - Euro
Slovenia (2004) - Euro
Bulgaria (2007)
Romania (2007)
Croatia (2013)
Have a great day.
