History of The eu

• Europe after the second world war was in ruin, not only the infrastructure but also morally and politically divided
• They started to think how to rebuilt Europe in a peaceful way for a peaceful future
• Reasons for European Integration

  • The will of rebuilding and uniting together, to become stronger
  • Ensuring the security
  • Economical reasons
  • Political stability
  • To reduce outside power
  • To get independence
  • Vacuum of power, something had to be invented
  • Create common identity
  • To have a peace in Europe, no more wars
• Keep Russian out, Americans in and Germans down
• Robert Schuman


  French foreign minister, author of Schuman Plan
• Konrad Adenauer


  His mission was to bring germans back
• Jean Monnet

  Worked together with Schuman, good manager and organizer of things
• Alcide de Gasperi


  Catholic, prisoner during the war, very engaged later in creation of EU institutions
• Paul Henri Spaak

  Spaak Report, document and the base for creation of European Community
• Why have there been no Founding Mothers of Europe? Good thing to reflect, role of women in EU integration process
• Marga Klompe


  Dutch, the oldest women in Parliamentary Assembly, highly important in symbolic way as the only women
• Simone Veil


  French politician, president of European Parliament
• Józef Retinger


  Polish spy, political councilor, Bilderberg Group (hidden world government, annual meeting of global elites- Retinger was creator of this)
• Treaty of Paris 18.04.1951 - European Coal and Steel Community- first European institution, beginning of EU integration
• Treaty of Rome- 1957 - European Economic Community
• Visions of EU integration

  • Federalism - sees Europe as the singular political state
  • Confederation - sovereign states that cooperate together but without building common institutions
  • Functionalism - Monet's idea to integrate as much as it is needed in the certain time, integrate to solve certain problems
• Initial states of the European Community in 1957: Netherlands, Belgium, West Germany, Luxemburg, Italy, France
• EU Enlargement


  • 1952 Niemcy, Francja, Włochy, Holandia, Belgia i Luksemburg
  • 1973 Dania, Irlandia, Wielka Brytania
  • 1981 Grecja
  • 1986 Hiszpania, Portugalia
  • 1995 Austria, Finlandia, Szwecja
  • 2004 Czechy, Estonia, Węgry, Łotwa, Litwa, Polska, Słowacja, Słowenia, Cypr, Malta
  • 2007 Bułgaria, Rumunia
  • 2013 Chorwacja
• The European Council - They wanted to have some place to discuss, informal meetings of Prime Ministers and Presidents. Later on it was formalized
• 1979- first election to European Parliament
• 1986- Single European Act, next treaty, establishment of a single European market
• 1992- Treaty of Maastricht. Creation of European Union. That time it was composed of three pillars (European Community, Common Foreign & Security Policy, Justice and Home Affairs)
• Key changes from Maastricht Treaty

  • Move from an economic to a politico-economic organization
  • Developed co-decision procedure
  • Initiated a monetary union
  • Provided social dimension to EU
  • Created European Citizenship
  • Enshrined principle of subsidiarity (decision should be taken as low as possible, all decision that can be solved by local government, should be solved by local government)
• 1997- Treaty of Amsterdam - High Representative, Acquis Schengen, Enhanced Cooperation
• 2001- Treaty of Nice - Reason: enlargement of the community, New members, so new procedures. How to organize everything? Big Bang from the European Perspective. Many eastern European countries, so 2004 enlargement was something new
• 2007- Lizbon Treaty, last treaty, in force even now, signed after the collapse o European Constitution, repacked by Lizbona Treaty and sold (because before western countries weren't happy about European constitution)
• The most important crises

  • 2010-2012 EURO crises (PIGS crises, whole euro zone In trouble)
  • Migrant Crises 2015
  • Brexit Crises 2020
  • Covid Crises 2020
  • Rusian Invasion on Ukraine 2022
• All those crises resulted in even stronger integration- what doesn't kill you makes you stronger