What year did the EU expand from 15 to 25 members?
EU leaders sign the Treaty of Nice. It aims to reform the institutions so the EU can function efficiently after reaching 25 member countries and prepare for the next major group of new members joining. It comes into force on 1 February 2003.
When did EU enlargement start?
On 3 October 1990, the reunification of East and West Germany brought East Germany into the Community without increasing the number of member states. The Community later became the European Union in 1993 by virtue of the Maastricht Treaty, and established standards for new entrants so their suitability could be judged.
When was the largest enlargement of the EU?
1 May 2004
On 1 May 2004 ten new countries joined the European Union in its largest ever enlargement: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
What happened in the EU in 1995?
The 1995 enlargement of the European Union saw Austria, Finland, and Sweden accede to the European Union (EU). This was the EU’s fourth enlargement and came into effect on 1 January of that year.
When did the EU have 12 members?
31 December 1994
On 31 December 1994, the EU had 12 Member States: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. From January 1995, the EU added three Member States: Austria, Finland and Sweden.
When did A8 countries join EU?
2004
The A8 countries, also referred to as the EU8, are eight of the 10 countries that joined the European Union during its 2004 enlargement.
How many times has the EU enlarged?
The European Union (EU) has enlarged on seven separate occasions growing from six to nine, then ten, then twelve, then fifteen, then twenty-five and now twenty-seven member states. The first enlargement was in 1973 when Britain, Ireland and Denmark became members.
What happened on 1 July 2013 to the membership of the EU?
The most recent enlargement of the European Union saw Croatia become the European Union’s 28th member state on 1 July 2013. The country applied for EU membership in 2003, and the European Commission recommended making it an official candidate in early 2004.
Which country as of January 2021 left the EU permanently?
The United Kingdom is set to leave the European Union on 31 January 2020 at midnight (Brussels time). It will no longer be a Member State of the European Union. This is a decision that the EU regrets but respects.
Why did Sweden join the EU in 1995?
Main findings are threefold. First, driving forces for Sweden to join the EU involved domestic factors such as a prolonged economic stagnation in the 1980s and an economic crisis in the beginning of the 1990s, as well as international factors such as economic and political transition of the communist bloc.
What happened in Europe in the 1990s?
The exodus resulting from war and suffering in the former Yugoslavia presented Europe with its biggest refugee crisis since World War II. Roughly 2.3 million people fled from towns and villages in the former federation of six republics since the country began to disintegrate in June 1991.