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The Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome established the EEC.
It came into force in 1958.
Its real aim consisted in transforming a process of economic integration into a process of political integration, as it was stated by Jean Monnet, the French statesman who was among the founding fathers of the European Community together with Robert Schumann, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer. -
The fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall put an end to the political and diplomatic tensions between USA and URSS that had been haunting Europe since the end of the Second World War. Moreover, it stated the destruction of the symbol of the division between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. The elimination of this both real and symbolic barrier paved the way to the process of progressive enlargement of the European Community towards the countries that had been isolated as part of the Soviet Union. -
The Maastricht Treaty
Also known as "Treaty on European Union", it came into force on November 1st, 1993.
It changed the name of the EEC into European Union. This change was the symbol of the will to accelerate the passage from merely economic agreements to a more profound political and social union.
It partly revised the Treaty of Rome, containing the commitment to reinforce the monetary and economic Union by creating a Central Bank and adopting a European currency by 1999. -
The adoption of the Euro
On January 1st, 1999, the Euro was officially adopted by 11 member states, that formed the so-called Eurozone. The adoption of the European currency was a fundamental step for the EU to implement the monetary union and create a Single European Market which would later make trading way easier.
Though the Euro was officially introduced as the new European currency in 1999, notes and coins were actually put into circulation in 2002. -
The Lisbon Treaty
In 2007, the Treaty of Lisbon was signed and ratified by the member states.
No additional exclusive competences were transferred to the Union by the Treaty of Lisbon. However, it changed the way it exercises its power, by enhancing citizen's participation and protection and modifying the decision-making process for increased efficiency and transparency.