EU countries: history of unification, membership, goals and achievements, structure

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:42

The European Economic Community was a regional organization. The EEC countries have united in order to deepen and expand integration. And this goal has been achieved. The successor to the EEC is the European Union, which completely absorbed this regional organization in 2009.

EU countries: list

Initially, the European Economic Community included six states. Among them are Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. In 1993, the organization was renamed the European Community as its scope expanded. The number of EEC countries at the time of termination of existence is 12. Among them are the following:

• Founding countries: Belgium, France, Germany (after unification - Germany), Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands.
• Denmark.
• Ireland.
• UK.
• Greece.
• Portugal.
• Spain.

Member States had their representatives in each structural unit of the organization.

History of Creation

In 1951year the Paris Agreement was signed. It marked the birth of the European Coal and Steel Community. This is the first unification of a whole galaxy. It was based on the principle of supranationality and international law. It was created to further integrate the economies of its members and prevent wars.

Initially, it was planned to create two more communities: defense and political. However, the countries did not come to an agreement about their concept. It was decided to focus on economic integration rather than political integration. In 1957, the Rome Agreement was signed. It stipulated the creation of the EEC and the European Atomic Energy Community. The task of the first organization was to form a customs union between countries, and the second was to encourage cooperation in the nuclear field. Already in 1962, the EEC countries set common prices for agricultural products. This was the first significant achievement of the community. In 1968, the EEC countries abolished tariffs on certain groups of goods.

As for expansion, already in 1961 Ireland, Norway and the UK applied to join the organization. However, they were rejected. France vetoed their entry. In 1967, four countries reapplied. In 1973 Denmark, Great Britain and Ireland became members of the EEC. A referendum was held in Norway and citizens voted against joining the European Economic Community. Greece applied in 1975. She joined the organization in 1981. Then Spain and Portugal were asked to join the EEC. They entered the European Economiccommunity in 1986. Turkey applied in 1987. However, its process of joining the EEC, and now the EU, has not yet been completed. In 1993, the organization was renamed to reflect the expanded field of activity. At the same time, now the European Community has become one of the three pillars of the EU. In 2009, the Lisbon Agreement was signed, according to which the EEC was absorbed by the latter.

Goals

The countries of the EEC, as stated in the preamble of the Treaty of Rome, united in order to preserve peace and freedom and create the basis for a closer union of the people of Europe. Integration was supposed to promote more balanced economic growth. To achieve the stated goals, the following activities were planned:

• Create a customs union with a common external tariff.
• Establishment of a unified policy in the field of agriculture, transport, trade, including standardization.
• Expansion of the EEC throughout Europe.

Achievements

The agreement contributed to the reduction of customs tariffs by 10% and 20% of import quotas globally. It was planned to spend 12 years to achieve the set goals, but everything happened much faster. France faced some difficulties due to the war with Algeria, but for the rest of the members this period was quite successful.

Structure

Initially there were three bodies (Council, Parliament, Commission) that performed executive and legislative functions, andone legal (Court). All of them were created at the time of the creation of the organization. Then an audit body was added to them in 1975. In 1993, the EEC became one of the three pillars of the EU. To date, the structure of the bodies of this regional organization is fully integrated into the European Union and no longer function separately.