EU Timeline

For centuries, Europe was the scene of frequent and bloody wars. In the period 1870 to 1945, France and Germany fought each other three times, with terrible loss of life. A number of European leaders became convinced that the only way to secure a lasting peace between their countries was to unite them economically and politically.
1946-1949
19 January 1946, the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill calls for a "kind of United States of Europe" in a speech he gives at the Zurich University. 1949, France, Great Britain and the Benelux countries decide to set into place a Council of Europe and ask Denmark, Ireland, Italy Norway and Switzerland to help them prepare the statute of such Council.
1961
July, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Denmark formally apply to join the European Communities.
1981
1 January, Greece becomes the 10th member of the European Community. November, France and the Federal Republic of Germany present the Genscher-Colombo Plan, a project of "European Act" to improve institutional mechanisms.
1991
1 July, Sweden formally applies to join the European Communities.21 October, the Council reaches an agreement on the establishment of the European Economic Area (EEA) between the EEC and EFTA countries.9-10 December, a European Council is held in Maastricht, The Netherlands. It reaches an agreement on the draft Treaty on the European Union.
2000
15 January, the opening session of the Ministerial Intergovernemental Conferences for accession negotiations of Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria, is held in Brussels, Belgium. 28 September, Denmark holds a referendum on the euro. The majority rejects joining the single European currency.7-9 December, The European Council in Nice, France reaches a political agreement on the Treaty of Nice.In the margins of the European Council, the Presidents of Parliament, the European Council and the Commission formally proclaim the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
2006
1 February, the European Commission launches a Communication policy White Paper “Debating Europe - involving citizens” as the foundation of a European Union Communication Policy.
2007
1 January, Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union bringing membership up to 27. 1 January, Slovenia becomes the 13th member of the eurozone.
20081 January, Cyprus and Malta join the Eurozone.1 January, Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopt the euro.1 January, Slovenia starts the presidency of European Union as the first of the new Member States.29 March, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia implement the Schengen Agreement for airports. June 2008, Ireland's voters rejected Lisbon Treaty. The governments of more than a dozen states have ratified the treaty. 1 July, France takes over the Presidency from Slovenia. 2009
1 January, the Czech Republic assumes the Presidency for the first time.1 January, Slovakia adopts the euro and becomes the 16th member of the Eurozone.1 January, Deadline by which goods in all member states of the European Union must be sold in metric units (this has already been completed everywhere, except in the United Kingdom).