European Economic Community (EEC) Timeline
Explore 936 World History Database records tracing European integration from post-war proposals through the EEC, enlargement, the single market, Schengen, Maastricht, monetary union and later European Union developments. Filter by year, country, person, event or place, or browse the complete chronology.
Historical overview
From the Schuman Plan and Treaty of Rome to Maastricht, the euro and Lisbon
The archive follows European integration from post-war proposals and the ECSC through the EEC, enlargement, the single market, monetary union and the treaty reforms of the European Union.
1945–1957: foundations
Post-war cooperation developed through the Council of Europe, the Schuman Plan and the European Coal and Steel Community. The six ECSC states then negotiated wider economic integration through the Treaties of Rome.
1958–1969: building the EEC
The EEC created common institutions, reduced internal trade barriers and developed the Common Agricultural Policy. The Fouchet negotiations and Empty Chair Crisis exposed disagreement over sovereignty and supranational authority.
1970s: enlargement and summits
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined in 1973. Regular European Council meetings were established, direct European Parliament elections were agreed and monetary cooperation became a growing priority.
1980s: twelve members and the single market
Greece joined in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The Single European Act and Delors Commission accelerated the programme to remove remaining internal-market barriers.
1990s: Maastricht and monetary union
The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union and set a path toward Economic and Monetary Union. The single market opened in 1993, Schengen expanded and the euro was launched for financial use in 1999.
2000s: enlargement and treaty reform
Nice prepared institutions for enlargement, ten countries joined in 2004, and the failed Constitutional Treaty was followed by the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force in 2009.
1950 9th MaySchuman Declaration
1951 18th AprilECSC Treaty signed
1957 25th MarchTreaties of Rome signed
1973 1st JanuaryFirst enlargement
1979 JuneFirst direct EP elections
1986Single European Act
1992 7th FebruaryMaastricht Treaty signed
1993 1st JanuarySingle market launched
1999 1st JanuaryEuro introduced electronically
2004 1st MayTen states join the EU
2007 13th DecemberLisbon Treaty signed
2009 1st DecemberLisbon enters into force
Historical and documentary images
Founding the EEC and the later integration process
Images are stored locally for stable display. Source links identify the original Wikimedia Commons file pages and their licensing or public-domain information.
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Permanent subject pages
Explore European integration by treaty, enlargement, country and leader
These crawlable pages are generated from the same 936-record archive. Each combines historical context with matching records rendered directly as static HTML.
Post-war European Integration, 1946–1956The political and economic steps that preceded the European Economic CommunitySchuman Plan and European Coal and Steel CommunityRobert Schuman, Jean Monnet and the first supranational European communityTreaty of Rome, 1957The treaty that established the European Economic CommunityEuropean Economic Community, 1958–1969The EEC's first decade: institutions, common policies and internal disputesCommon Agricultural PolicyThe development of the EEC's shared agricultural policy and financingFouchet PlanCharles de Gaulle's proposals for intergovernmental European political cooperationEmpty Chair Crisis and Luxembourg CompromiseThe 1965–1966 institutional crisis over voting and Community authorityMerger Treaty and the European CommunitiesThe institutional merger of the EEC, ECSC and Euratom executivesFirst EEC Enlargement, 1973Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European CommunitiesBritain and the EEC, 1961–1975Applications, French vetoes, accession and the 1975 referendumCreation of the European CouncilThe establishment of regular summits of EEC heads of governmentFirst Direct European Parliament Elections, 1979The move from appointed delegations to directly elected European representativesEuropean Monetary SystemExchange-rate coordination and the path toward monetary unionGreece Joins the EEC, 1981The second enlargement of the European CommunitiesSpain and Portugal Join the EEC, 1986The third enlargement of the European CommunitiesSingle European ActTreaty reform designed to complete the internal marketJacques Delors and the Delors CommissionCommission leadership during the single-market and monetary-union driveSchengen Agreement and Border-free TravelThe development of passport-free travel among participating European statesMaastricht Treaty and the European UnionThe 1991–1993 settlement that created the European Union and set the path to the euroEuropean Single Market, 1993The programme to remove barriers to movement of goods, people, services and capitalEconomic and Monetary UnionFrom the Delors Report and intergovernmental negotiations to the single currencyIntroduction of the EuroSelection of participants, electronic launch and the 2002 cash changeoverTreaty of AmsterdamLate-1990s reform of European Union institutions and policiesTreaty of NiceInstitutional reform before the European Union's large eastern enlargementEuropean Union Enlargement, 2004The largest single expansion in the history of European integrationEuropean Constitutional TreatyThe Convention on the Future of Europe and the unsuccessful constitutional treatyTreaty of LisbonThe reform treaty agreed after the failure of the Constitutional TreatyEuropean Council SummitsMajor meetings that directed treaty reform, enlargement and economic integrationFrance and European IntegrationFrance's role in EEC and later European Union politicsGermany and European IntegrationGermany's role in EEC and later European Union politicsItaly and European IntegrationItaly's role in EEC and later European Union politicsGreece and European IntegrationGreece's role in EEC and later European Union politicsIreland and European IntegrationIreland's role in EEC and later European Union politicsDenmark and European IntegrationDenmark's role in EEC and later European Union politicsPortugal and European IntegrationPortugal's role in EEC and later European Union politicsBritain and European IntegrationGreat Britain's role in EEC and later European Union politicsBelgium and European IntegrationBelgium's role in EEC and later European Union politicsLuxembourg and European IntegrationLuxembourg's role in EEC and later European Union politicsNetherlands and European IntegrationNetherlands's role in EEC and later European Union politicsSpain and European IntegrationSpain's role in EEC and later European Union politicsRobert SchumanFrench foreign minister associated with the 1950 declaration that launched the Schuman PlanJean MonnetPlanner and institutional strategist of early European integrationCharles de GaulleFrench president whose European policy shaped EEC debates in the 1960sJacques DelorsPresident of the European Commission during the single-market and Maastricht eraHelmut KohlGerman chancellor during reunification, Maastricht and monetary unionFrançois MitterrandFrench president and key partner in the Franco-German drive toward MaastrichtValéry Giscard d'EstaingFrench president involved in creating the European Council and later chairing the European ConventionHans-Dietrich GenscherGerman foreign minister active in direct elections, monetary cooperation and MaastrichtBertie AhernIrish Taoiseach during treaty reform, enlargement and Lisbon-era negotiationsAndreas PapandreouGreek prime minister during the first years of Greek EEC membershipGiulio AndreottiItalian statesman active across enlargement, monetary cooperation and MaastrichtJacques ChiracFrench president during the euro, Amsterdam, Nice and eastern enlargement
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About this collection
This page is generated from all 936 supplied World History Database records in the EEC collection. The source spans 1818–2009 and includes European integration, EEC institutions, national governments, enlargement, treaties, monetary cooperation and related political events.
The supplied record content is preserved. Each result can display its date, country, event, person, role, place, category, range fields and description when those values are present.
Sources and editorial review
Sources and further reading
Compiled and edited by World History Database.
The historical overview provides context for the site's 936 structured EEC and European integration records. The chronology preserves the database's stored dates, people, countries, places, events and descriptions.
Last reviewed: September 2026.