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World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945.
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Churchill used the term "United States of Europe" in a speech delivered on 19 September 1946 at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. In this speech given after the end of the Second World War, Churchill concluded: "We must build a kind of United States of Europe. In this way only will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes which make life worth living'' (19 September 1946, Zurich) -
The Treaty of Paris ratified The European Coal and Steel Community. Six founding Member States were economically and politically united in order to secure lasting peace. -
The same countries signed the Treaty of Rome. It sanctioned a wider common market referred to as the European Economic Community. -
The United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland joined EC, raising the number of Member States to 9. In 1979 the European Parliament increased its influence when, for the first time, European citizens elected their representatives directly. -
The first major revision of The Treaty of Rome took place in 1986, when the Single European Act (SEA) enabled a shift from nearly a common market to a single market, by further removing barriers to trade and increasing the harmonization of standards among Member States.
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Maastricht Treaty was signed. It set off the European Union under its current name and prepared the introduction of the Euro. The EU's powers increased in the areas of education, culture, youth, consumer protection, trans-European networks and industrial policy. European citizenship was also introduced thus granting a number of rights (e.g.travel, work and live freely within E.U., petition the E U court of justice) -
The EU adopted the Treaty of Amsterdam, which incorporated the Schengen agreement as a legal and institutional framework of the EU: border controls within the union are abolished. Amsterdam signalled a move from merely an intergovernmental to a more supranational EU. -
The Constitution for Europe was introduced, it outlined the primacy of EU rules over national ones and also over national constitutions. The Constitution failed in the ratification process as a result of the negative outcomes of national referenda in France and the Netherlands. However, much of the content of the Constitution for Europe was integrated into the Treaty of Lisbon (2009) which governs the EU today. -
Rising Euroscepticism, frustrations about immigration, social and economic changes, distrust and uncertainties, set the stage for Brexit. On 23 June the UK decided to leave the EU. -
The Brexit withdrawal agreement, ratified at the end of January, provided for a transition period until 31 December 2020. In this lapse of time the UK remained in the Single market in order to ensure stable trade. Meanwhile a new long term commercial relationship was agreed: the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed on December 2020 -
Brexit transition period is over, a huge trade deal signed by Boris Johnson come into force in January implementing new rules and regulations. A new and controversial scenario has been opened in the complex relationships between the EU and the UK.
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