Timeline of European Integration PDF

Timeline of European integration ***7^th^/6^th^ century BCE:** Homeric \"Hymn to Apollo\" as containing the first recorded reference to \"Europe\" as a geographically distinct area* **484-425 BCE:** Herodotus\' Histories, which questions the clear demarcation of Europe from Asia and the origins of...

Timeline of European integration ***7^th^/6^th^ century BCE:** Homeric \"Hymn to Apollo\" as containing the first recorded reference to \"Europe\" as a geographically distinct area* **484-425 BCE:** Herodotus\' Histories, which questions the clear demarcation of Europe from Asia and the origins of the name "Europe." **Roman Empire:** the idea of a superior Roman Europe juxtaposed against Asia and Africa represented a foundational myth ***732 CE:** the Arab expansion is halted at the Battle of Tours in France (an account refers to the forces led by Charles Martel as "Europeans")* **Charlemagne**: Carolingian Empire referred to as Roman, Christian and "Europe" (\"Christendom\" as a unifying concept for Europe) ***1453**: fall of Constantinople and the Ottoman advance into Europe reinforce the perception of an external Islamic threat* **1492**: discovery of the New World emphasizes the idea of European superiority ***1533**: "Europa Regina", illustration by Johannes Putsch* **1618-48**: Thirty Years War and the Peace of Westphalia (the discourse on Europe became increasingly political and cultural, with the emphasis on establishing peace between the major European states) ***1632:** The 'grand design' by Duke of Sully: European federation of states to overcome religious wars in Europe under the umbrella of an 'international organization' to unite all European by means of an inseparable bond* ***Enlightenment**: rise of ideas of rationality, justice, democracy, individual freedom, secularism, and tolerance* ***1646-1716:** Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (Distinct states coming together to form a political "compound" / Global vision of humanity modelled on the idea of European humanity)* **1713**: \"Projet de paix perpétuelle" by Abbé de Saint-Pierre (secular idea of European society, over and above any national political entity / association of sovereigns / dispute resolution by arbitration rather than arms / organized community of laws) ***1756**: Jean-Jacques Rousseau writes "A Lasting Peace through the Federation of* *Europe" (establishment of a federation that would include the various nation-states / "real community with a religion and a moral code, with customs and even laws of its own" / small states retaining their national-cultural specificities)* **1795**: Kant writes "Perpetual peace" (Pacific federation (foedus pacificum) of European states / Creation of a legal order / Military cooperation in defense) ***1834**: Zollverein (Prussian-dominated customs union / Failed to prevent political conflict and no real economic improvement)* ***1834**: Giuseppe Mazzini founds La Giovine Europa (nation: vehicle for achieving freedom and universal brotherhood)* ***1850**: Robert Knox writes "The Races of Men" (emergence of race theory, difference even between Europeans, race purity)* ***1870**: Franco-Prussian War (1870) and the subsequent rise of a German Empire destroyed the idea of a peaceful Franco-German alliance (Victor Hugo)* **1915**: Friedrich Naumann proposes \"Mitteleuropa,\" a plan for German economic and cultural dominance over Central Europe ***1918**: Oswald Spengler writes "The Decline of the West" (mood of crisis and decline)* **1918**: "Fourteen points" by Woodrow Wilson **1919**: Treaty of Versailles (reparations imposed on Germany and restrictions on German military capabilities / establishment of the League of Nations) ***1919**: Keynes criticizes the Treaty in "Economic Consequences of the Peace"* ***1919:** Paul Valéry publishes his essay \"La Crise de Esprit\" (The Crisis of the Mind), linking the war to the challenges of modernity and questioning traditional European values* ***1923:** Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi founds the Pan-European Movement, promoting European unity for global influence and war prevention (included need for colonies / aim to create a transnational mass movement)* ***1929:** Wall Street Crash and the beginning of the Great Depression* **1930:** Aristide Briand presents his plan for a European Union to the League of Nations, proposing a step-by-step approach to political integration. The plan faces strong opposition and ultimately fails due to concerns about national sovereignty, fears of undermining the League of Nations, and the onset of the Great Depression (European Conference and a Permanent Political Committee / political over economic integration) ***1930s:** Joseph Roth, a Jewish writer, argues that nationalism, not external forces, poses the greatest threat to Europe. He emphasizes the shared history and cultural consciousness of Europe as a source of unity* ***1930s**: The Nazi party rises to power in Germany, promoting a distorted view of European civilization rooted in racism and aiming to establish a \"new European order\" under German dominance* ***1934-1961**: concept of \"the dwarfing of Europe,\" coined by historian Arnold Toynbee (Westernization was spreading globally, yet Europe was losing its dominant position)* **1941:** Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi write the Ventotene Manifesto, a clandestine publication advocating for a federal Europe with a supranational government and a common army ***1943:** Formation of the European Federalist Movement, inspired by the Ventotene Manifesto* ***1944:** European Federalists hold a conference in Geneva (directly responsible to the people of Europe / army under its control / written constitution)* ***Post-WWII:** division of Europe into Eastern and Western blocs emerges* ***1946:** Churchill delivers his \"Three Circles\" speech (Empire / European Union / English-speaking world), outlining a vision for Britain\'s role in the postwar world that includes a united Europe but maintains British independence.* ***1947**: Truman Doctrine* **1948**: Marshall Plan (1948) solidify the United States\' commitment to containing communism and rebuilding Europe (Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) is established to administer the Marshall Plan) ***May 7-10, 1948:** The Congress of Europe convenes in The Hague, advocating for European unity and establishing the European Movement* ***1949**: NATO is formed as a military alliance for collective security against potential Soviet aggression* ***1949:** Germany is divided into the western Federal Republic and the eastern Democratic Republic* **1949:** The American Committee on a United Europe begins providing financial assistance to the European Movement. The European Movement\'s Legal Committee initiates the process that will lead to the drafting of the European Convention on Human Rights ***1950-1953:** The Korean War intensifies Cold War tensions and prompts discussions about a unified European defence force* **May 9, 1950:** French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presents the Schuman Declaration, proposing the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) ***1950**: Pleven proposes the Pleven Plan for the creation of a European army (initially suggested by Konrad Adenauer) but it fails because of british and french internal opposition* **April 18, 1951:** The Treaty of Paris is signed, establishing the ECSC by France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (the \"Six\"). Britain declines to join ***1952:** The Netherlands proposes the idea of a common market for the first time* ***1953-1956:** Unsuccessful uprisings in East Germany and Hungary highlight challenges to stability in Eastern Europe* ***1955:** The Western European Union (WEU) is established with British involvement, aiming to facilitate West German rearmament within a NATO framework (no real success)* ***1955**: Jean Monnet, through the Action Committee for the United States of Europe favoured initial sectoral integration of nuclear energy* **June 1955:** The Messina Conference convenes, bringing together the foreign ministers of the Six to discuss revitalizing European integration and establish a market free from customs duties and quantitative restrictions ***1956:** The failed Suez Crisis underscores the diminishing global influence of Britain and France* **1956**: The Spaak Report, outlining a plan for a common market and a nuclear energy community, is presented and endorsed **March 1957:** The Treaties of Rome are signed, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) ***1957-1961:** The EEC experiences significant economic success, achieving substantial reductions in internal tariff barriers and fostering rapid trade growth (composed by Commission, Council of Ministers, Assembly (later Parliament) and the Court of Justice)* **1960:** The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is formed, comprising Britain and other European countries seeking free trade without the political commitments of the EEC ***1961-1962:** Fouchet Plans (\"Union of the European peoples\" without supranational institutions -\> main objectives were a common foreign and defence policy + development of common heritage and protection of values), rejected by Benelux countries* ***1961:** Britain, recognizing the EEC\'s success, formally applies for membership. Greece becomes an associate member of the EEC* **1962:** The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is established (Price guarantees for farmers / Subsidies for agricultural production) ***1962:** Franco's government sent a letter to the EEC requesting the opening of negotiations with a view to associating Spain with the Community or even possible membership in the long term* **1963:** French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes Britain\'s application to join the EEC, driven by his vision of a French-led Europe ***1964-1967:** The Kennedy Round of GATT negotiations sees the EEC participating as a unified entity and securing significant tariff cuts* **1965-1966:** The \"Empty Chair Crisis\" erupts over the Commission's planned expansion of power, triggered by disputes over agricultural policy and highlighting tensions between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism within the EEC **1965:** The Merger Treaty, also called Treaty of Brussels, combines the executives of the EEC, ECSC, and Euratom into a single Commission **1966:** The Luxembourg Compromise resolves the Empty Chair Crisis, granting member states a de facto veto over major decisions and shifting the EEC towards an intergovernmental model **1967:** French President Charles de Gaulle vetoes for the second time Britain\'s application to join the EEC ***1969:** The Hague Summit agrees on CAP financing, expands the European Parliament\'s budgetary powers, and decides to relaunch negotiations for British membership* ***Early 1970s:** The Bretton Woods system collapses* ***1970**: The Werner Report lays out a roadmap for achieving Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) by 1980, including a common currency* ***1970:** the Parliament gets granted budgetary powers* ***1970:** preferential agreement between EEC and Spain* ***1970:** The Davignon Report proposes a pragmatic approach to political cooperation, leading to regular meetings of foreign ministers* ***1970**: European Political Cooperation (EPC) as a platform for member states to align their foreign policies (lack of binding commitments and force)* **1973:** Britain, Ireland, and Denmark join the EEC, expanding membership from six to nine; Norway rejects EEC membership in a referendum ***1974:** French President Valéry Giscard d\'Estaing and West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt call for a \"European Union\" (Emergence of the European Council in this context: NOT initially intended to be a formal institution, but regular summits of heads of government (formalised in 2009!))* **1974**: President Giscard d'Estaing obtains creation of European Council ***1975:** The first Lomé Convention is signed, establishing a trade agreement between the EEC and former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific* ***1975**: Creation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), intended to* *support the development of poorer regions, but not always effective in its targeting* ***1975**: The Tindemans Report proposes strengthening economic and monetary union, common foreign policy and defence, and enhancing the powers of European institutions (fails)* **1979:** The European Monetary System (EMS) is created with the aim of stabilizing exchange rates and controlling inflation (composed by the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), that would permit currencies of member states to fluctuate against one another within a margin of fluctuation and the European Currency Unit (ECU), that would be a basket of member state currencies, and act as a central rate) **1979**: Direct elections to the European Parliament begin **1981-1986:** The Southern Enlargement sees Spain, Portugal, and Greece join the EEC ***1981:** The Genscher-Colombo Plan, initiated by West Germany and Italy, focuses on common foreign policy and security cooperation* ***1984:** The Fontainebleau summit agrees on a mechanism to control CAP spending and introduces stabilizers to control production (Thatcher achieves a rebate for the UK), the European Council also agrees to establish an ad hoc committee to examine further steps towards European Union (Dooge Committee)* ***1984**: The Dooge Committee is established to explore further steps towards European Union* ***1985-1995:** Jacques Delors becomes President of the European Commission.* ***1985:** The Milan European Council agrees to convene an intergovernmental conference (IGC), paving the way for the drafting of the Single European Act (SEA) (anticipated by the "White Paper of the European Commission")* **1986:** The Single European Act (SEA) is signed (elimination of tariffs, quotas, and other obstacles to the free movement of goods -\> single market / harmonisation of national regulations / reaffirmed and expanded upon the four freedoms that were enshrined in the Treaty of Rome -\> freedom of goods, services, capital, and people / concept of \"qualified majority voting\" / expansion of the EC's competences / cooperation procedure for the Parliament) ***1987-1992**: Delors Commission Reports (roadmap for single market, economic and social cohesion, and monetary union -\> concrete measures, such as the creation of a European Central Bank and the establishment of a single currency)* ***1988:** Margaret Thatcher delivers her Bruges Speech, warning against a federal Europe and advocating for a \"Europe of Nations\"* ***1989**: Delors Report on EMU* ***1989:** The Berlin Wall falls, paving the way for German reunification* ***1990:** German reunification is completed* **1993:** The Maastricht Treaty is signed, establishing the European Union (EU) and paving the way for the Euro (three pillars: The European Community, The Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)(immigration, asylum, and judicial cooperation) / three stage process to EMU -\> Britain secured opt-outs from the Social Chapter and the single currency / Codecision procedure for the Parliament / Court of Auditors added to the EU institutions / European Council recognized as organ / Subsidiarity principle recognized / Introduction of Union citizenship / Creation of the Committee of the Regions / Creation of the Cohesion fund) ***Maastricht Criteria (1993)**: to prevent countries from joining the euro and* *then experiencing economic difficulties* - *Inflation -\> A country\'s inflation rate could not exceed the average of the three EU member states with the lowest rates by more than 1.5 percentage points* - *Government Finance -\> Governments could not have an annual budget deficit of more than 3 percent of GDP or a public debt higher than 60 percent of GDP* - *Interest Rates -\> Long-term interest rates could not exceed the average of the three lowest inflation countries by more than 2 percentage points* - *Exchange Rate Stability -\> A country\'s currency must have participated in the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) for two years without severe fluctuations* - *Price Stability -\> A country\'s prices must be stable* **1992-93:** "Black Wednesday" -\> Currency crisis rocks the European Monetary System, forcing the British pound and Italian lira out of the ERM ***Copenhagen criteria (1993)**: to provide objective benchmarks for new member states* - *stable political institutions and the guarantee of human rights and the rule of law* - *economic stability and the existence of a robust market that could cope with economic integration with the EU* - *an acceptance of the Community Acquis, the body of EU law that has developed since the beginning of European integration in the 1950s* **1995:** Accession of the "Eftans" (Austria, Finland, and Sweden) to the EC (they were already participating in the EEA -- European Economic Area) **1997:** The Treaty of Amsterdam is signed, introducing limited institutional reforms and preparating for the enlargement (incorporation of the 1985 Schengen agreement into EU law / Strengthening of Parliament's powers / Sustainable development / "Nuclear procedure" against MS / Enhanced cooperation introduced / EP gains power to approve nomination President / Creation of High Representative for CFSP and Treaty-making procedure for CFSP) ***1999:** The Euro is launched as an accounting currency* ***1999**: Creation of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) (creation of a European rapid reaction force and civilian crisis management)* **2001:** The Nice Treaty is signed, further reforming the EU's institutional structure to prepare for enlargement (expansion of QMV), narrowly adopted in Ireland after 2 referendum and rejected in Denmark ***2001**: Laeken European Council decided to organize a Convention on the future of the EU, with focus on better division of competences; simplification of the EU's instruments for action; increased democracy, transparency and efficiency* **2002:** The Euro becomes physical currency ***2004:** European Council adopts the amended text of the "Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe" (The treaty was then rejected by France and the Netherlands in their national referendums)* **2004:** Ten new member states join the EU, primarily from Central and Eastern Europe (creation of the \"double majority\" voting system was established, requiring a majority of member states representing at least 60 percent of the EU\'s population) ***2004**: Creation of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) to strengthen ties with countries in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Mediterranean (too focused on economics and not enough on political reform)* **2007**: Treaty of Lisbon a revised version of the rejected Constitutional Treaty (Merged the European Community (EC) into the EU, giving the EU a single legal personality / EU based on two equal Treaties: TEU and TFEU (reshaped TEC) / Seven institutions: European Central Bank and European Council added / Introduction of competences, shared competences, complementary competences / Charter of Fundamental Rights same legal value as Treaties / Voting in Council: dual-majority system / Introduction withdrawal clause (Art 50 TEU) / Total absorption of Third Pillar in Area of Freedom, Security and Justice / Introduction of Ordinary Legislative Procedure) **2007:** Bulgaria and Romania join the EU ***2008:** The global financial crisis hits, impacting the Eurozone and highlighting economic vulnerabilities* **2008**: Pigs Crisis (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) -\> Three-pronged EU's response - Austerity - Bailouts: creation of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to provide emergency loans - Structural Reforms **2012:** Fiscal Compact, formally known as the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance, was signed (to enforce stricter budget discipline and prevent future crises by limiting government borrowing) **2012**: ECB President Mario Draghi\'s pledge in July 2012 to \"do whatever it takes\" to save the euro was a pivotal moment. Follows the implementation of the Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) program, which involves the ECB buying the bonds of struggling Eurozone countries **2013**: Croatia joins the EU **2016**: EU-Turkey Statement (return of migrants from EU to Turkey / Visa Liberalization for Turkish Citizens / Financial aid to Turkey) ***2016**: Brexit referendum* **2020**: Brexit **Phases of EU integration** - 1950s-mid 1960s: (re-)building Europe - Mid 1960s-1985: "eurosclerosis" - 1986-1993: deeper and broader integration - 1993-2005: EU-phoria - 2005-2009: constitutional crisis - 2010 -... : polycrisis **List of treaties and subsequent referendums** - **Treaty of Maastricht (1992)** **Succeeded:** - France (1992): Approved with a narrow majority (51.05%). - Ireland (1992): Approved with a strong majority (69%). **Failed/Challenges:** - Denmark (1992): Initially rejected (50.7%). After receiving exemptions from the EMU and other areas with the Edinburgh Agreement, it was approved in a second referendum in 1993 (56.7%) - **Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)** **Succeeded:** - Ireland (1998): Approved (61%) - **Treaty of Nice (2001)** **Succeeded:** - Ireland: Initially rejected in 2001 (53.9% opposed). Approved in a second referendum in 2002 (62.9%) after additional assurances - **Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe (2004)** **Failed:** - France (2005): Rejected (54.67%) - Netherlands (2005): Rejected (61.5%) **Succeeded:** - Spain (2005): Approved (76.7%) - Luxembourg (2005): Approved (56.52%) Outcome: The treaty was ultimately abandoned due to the French and Dutch rejections - **Treaty of Lisbon (2007)** **Succeeded:** - Ireland: Initially rejected in 2008 (53.4%). Approved in a second referendum in 2009 (67.1%) after assurances on neutrality and tax sovereignty