In May 1950 the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman, presented a plan to combine the West European coal and steel industries. At the time these were the two most important industries for waging war. Combining them would make it more difficult to do so. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established by the Treaty of Paris in 1951. It had six members: Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the Netherlands. Decision-making powers for the coal and steel industries were given to an independent supranational institution, the High Authority.

The European Communities
The ECSC’s six members also decided to cooperate in other areas. In 1957 they signed the Treaties of Rome, establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC). The member states set themselves the goal of removing trade barriers and creating a common market. The ECSC, EURATOM and the EEC together made up the European Communities. In 1967 the European Communities’ institutions were merged to form the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament.

The success of the European Communities led to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark becoming members in 1973. In January 1981 Greece became the tenth member state. With the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1986 the Communities had 12 members and in 1995 Austria, Sweden and Finland joined what by then had become the European Union.

The Treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam
The Treaty on European Union signed in Maastricht in 1991 was a milestone in the process of European integration. The 12 member states embarked upon Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Their ultimate goal was to introduce a single European currency and to have a European Central Bank conduct monetary policy. EMU commenced with 11 participating countries in 1999; Greece became the twelfth in 2000. The single currency became a reality on 1 January 2002 when 12 of the EU’s 15 member states introduced the euro. The Maastricht Treaty also established the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) to strengthen the EU’s position in the world. In addition, it provided for cooperation in the fields of Justice and Home Affairs, a logical consequence of the free movement of persons.

The Treaty of Amsterdam signed in 1997 further extended the European Union. The Treaty’s main objective was to bring the Union closer to the citizens. Parliament’s position was strengthened, the principle of openness or transparency was introduced and policy provisions on public health and consumer protection were tightened up.

Enlargement
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc, the Union faced a new challenge: absorbing new member states from central and eastern Europe, namely the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. Before these countries - plus Cyprus and Malta - could join on 1 May 2004, the EU had to be significantly reformed. To ensure that it could function efficiently with 25 or more member states, decision-making procedures had to be adapted. The Treaty of Nice accordingly contained new rules on the size and operation of the EU institutions. This treaty entered into force on 1 February 2003.

The future: a European constitution
A Declaration on the Future of Europe was appended to the Treaty of Nice. It was the rallying cry for a European constitution. With the accession of the ten new member states on 1 May 2004, further reforms were necessary, particularly of the EU’s institutions. The European Council in Laeken (2001) decided to hold a European Convention on the Future of Europe. The Convention produced a constitutional treaty that combined, reformulated and in places rewrote the treaties underlying the EU.

The main proposals in the draft constitution were:
- appointment of a European Minister of Foreign Affairs (EMFA);
- legal personality for the Union;
- appointment of a permanent president of the European Council;
- the EU as a whole acceding to the European Convention on Human Rights;
- further formalisation and extension of the European Court of Justice

Giscard d’Estaing, the president of the European Convention, presented the draft Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe” on 18 July 2003. At the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) that began on 4 October 2003, the heads of state and government of all member states discussed the draft treaty in order to negotiate a final text for the constitution. At the European Council on 12 and 13 December 2003, however, they were unable to agree upon a joint text. The negotiations continued under the Irish Presidency in the first half of 2004 and a final text was agreed upon in June 2004. Before the Treaty can enter into force it must be ratified by all member states. Some member states will put the constitution to the people in a referendum.