Europe in 12 lessons.
Date: 2014-10-10
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU Member State, EU activity, EU law, EU national, EU police cooperation, EU policy, EU relations, European Communities, European Union, European cooperation, European integration, European political cooperation, common market, customs territory (EU), deepening of the European Union, euro, free movement of persons, free movement of workers, history of Europe, public awareness campaign, vision of Europe

T H E   E U R O P E A N  
U N I O N  
E X P L A I N E D

Europe  
in 12 lessons

by Pascal F ontaine

European Union

THE EUROPEAN UNION 
EXPLAINED

This publication is a part of a series that explains  
what the EU does in different policy areas,  
why the EU is involved and what the results are.

You can see which ones are available to download at:
http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm

How the EU works
Europe 2020: Europe’s growth strategy

Europe in 12 lessons 

The founding fathers of the EU

Agriculture
Borders and security
Budget
Climate action
Competition
Consumers
Culture and audiovisual
Customs
Development and cooperation
Digital agenda
Economic and monetary union and the euro
Education, training, youth and sport
Employment and social affairs
Energy
Enlargement
Enterprise
Environment
Fight against fraud
Food safety
Foreign affairs and security policy
Humanitarian aid and civil protection
Internal market
Justice, citizenship, fundamental rights
Maritime affairs and fisheries
Migration and asylum
Public health
Regional policy
Research and innovation
Taxation
Trade
Transport

The European Union explained: 
Europe in 12 lessons, by Pascal Fontaine.

European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM

Manuscript updated in January 2014

Cover: © Maciej Frolow/ 
Brand X Pictures/Jupiterimages

48 pp. — 21 × 29.7 cm
ISBN 978-92-79-34280-6 
doi:10.2775/36518

Luxembourg: Publications Office  
of the European Union, 2014

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised. For any use or reproduction 
of individual photos, permission must be sought directly 
from the copyright holders.

 
T H E   E U R O P E A N   U N I O N   
E X P L A I N E D 

Europe  
in 12 lessons

by Pascal Fontaine

2

Table of contents

1.  Why the European Union? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.  Ten historic steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3.  Enlarging the EU and getting on with the neighbours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4.  How does the EU work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5. What does the EU do?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

6. The single market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

7. The euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

8. Building on knowledge and innovation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

9.  What does it mean to be a European citizen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

10. A Europe of freedom, security and justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

11. The EU on the world stage  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

12. What future for Europe?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Key dates in the history of European integration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED3

1. Why the European Union?

The EU’s mission in the 21st century is to:

 X maintain and build on the peace established between its Member States;
 X bring European countries together in practical cooperation;
 X ensure that European citizens can live in security;
 X promote economic and social solidarity;
 X preserve European identity and diversity in a globalised world;
 X promulgate the values that Europeans share.

I.  Peace

Before becoming a real political objective, the idea of 
uniting Europe was just a dream in the minds of 
philosophers and visionaries. Victor Hugo, for example, 
imagined a peaceful ‘United States of Europe’ inspired 
by humanistic ideals. The dream was shattered by the 
terrible wars that ravaged the continent during the first 
half of the 20th century.

However, a new kind of hope emerged from the rubble 
of the Second World War. People who had resisted 
totalitarianism during the war were determined to put 
an end to international hatred and rivalry in Europe and 
create the conditions for lasting peace. Between 1945 
and 1950, a handful of courageous statesmen including 
Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide de Gasperi 
and Winston Churchill set about persuading their 
peoples to enter a new era. New structures would be 
created in western Europe, based on shared interests 
and founded upon treaties guaranteeing the rule of law 
and equality between all countries.

Robert Schuman (French foreign minister) took up an 
idea originally conceived by Jean Monnet and, on 9 
May 1950, proposed establishing a European Coal and 
Steel Community (ECSC). In countries which had once 
fought each other, the production of coal and steel 
would be pooled under a common High Authority. In a 
practical but also richly symbolic way, the raw 
materials of war were being turned into instruments of 
reconciliation and peace.

II.  Bringing Europe together

The European Union encouraged German unification 
after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. When the 
Soviet empire crumbled in 1991, the countries of 
central and eastern Europe, which had for decades 
endured life behind the ‘iron curtain’, were once again 
free to choose their own destiny. Many decided that 
their future lay within the family of democratic 
European nations. Eight of them joined the EU in 2004, 
two more followed in 2007 and Croatia joined in 2013.

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The fall of the Berlin Wall in 
1989 led to a gradual 
breaking down of old 
divisions across the continent 
of Europe.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
4

The process of EU enlargement is still going on. Eight 
countries are at different stages of preparation for 
possible future membership.

III. Security

Europe in the 21st century still faces security issues. 
The EU has to take effective action to ensure the 
security of its Member States. It has to work 
constructively with the regions just beyond its borders: 
the Balkans, North Africa, the Caucasus and the Middle 
East. It must also protect its military and strategic 
interests by working with its allies, especially within 
NATO, and by developing a genuine common European 
security and defence policy.

Internal and external security are two sides of the same 
coin. The fight against terrorism and organised crime 
requires the police forces of all EU countries to work 
together closely. Making the EU an ‘area of freedom, 
security and justice’ where everyone has equal access 
to justice and is equally protected by the law is a new 
challenge that requires close cooperation between 
governments. Bodies like Europol, the European Police 
Office and Eurojust (which promotes cooperation 
between prosecutors, judges and police officers in 
different EU countries) also have to play an active and 
effective role.

IV. Economic and social solidarity

The European Union was created to achieve political 
goals, and it set about achieving them through 
economic cooperation.

European countries account for an ever smaller 
percentage of the world’s population. They must 
therefore continue pulling together if they are to ensure 
economic growth and be able to compete on the world 
stage with other major economies. No individual EU 
country is strong enough to go it alone in world trade. 
To achieve economies of scale and find new customers, 
European companies need a broader base than just 
their national home market, and the European single 
market provides it. To ensure that as many people as 
possible benefit from this Europe-wide market of over 
500 million consumers, the EU is endeavouring to 
remove obstacles to trade and is working to free 
businesses from unnecessary red tape.

But Europe-wide free competition must be 
counterbalanced by Europe-wide solidarity. This has 
clear tangible benefits for European citizens: when they 
fall victim to floods and other natural disasters, they 
receive assistance from the EU budget. The ‘Structural 
Funds’, managed by the European Commission, 
encourage and supplement the efforts of the EU’s 
national and regional authorities to reduce inequalities 
between different parts of Europe. Money from the EU 
budget and loans from the European Investment Bank 
(EIB) are used to improve Europe’s transport 
infrastructure (for example, to extend the network of 
motorways and high-speed railways), thus providing 
better access to outlying regions and boosting trans-
European trade.

The global financial crisis in 2008 triggered the 
sharpest economic downturn in the EU’s history. 
Governments and EU institutions had to act swiftly to 
rescue banks, and the EU provided financial assistance 
to the hardest-hit countries. Sharing a single currency 
helped protect the euro area against speculation and 
devaluation. Then, in 2010, the EU and its Member 
States made a concerted effort to reduce their public 
debt. The big challenge for European countries in the 
years ahead will be to stand together in the face of 
global crises and to find, together, a way out of 
recession and into sustainable growth.

V.  European identity and diversity in a 

globalised world

Europe’s post-industrial societies are becoming 
increasingly complex. Standards of living have risen 
steadily, but there are still significant gaps between rich 
and poor. These gaps may be widened by factors such 
as economic recession, industrial relocation, the ageing 
of the population and problems with public finances. It 
is important for EU countries to work together to tackle 
these problems.

But working together does not mean erasing the distinct 
cultural and linguistic identity of individual countries. On 
the contrary, many EU activities help promote regional 
specialities and the rich diversity of Europe’s traditions 
and cultures.

In the long run, all EU countries benefit. Sixty years of 
European integration has shown that the EU as a whole 
is greater than the sum of its parts. It has much more 
economic, social, technological, commercial and political 
clout than if its Member States had to act individually. 
There is added value in acting together and speaking 
with a single voice.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED5

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United in diversity: working 
together achieves better 
results.

In today’s world, rising economies such as China, India 
and Brazil are set to join the United States as global 
superpowers. It is therefore more vital than ever for the 
Member States of the European Union to come together 
and achieve a ‘critical mass’, thus maintaining their 
influence on the world stage.

How does the EU exercise this influence?

•  The European Union is the world’s leading trading 

power and therefore plays a decisive role in 
international negotiations, such as those among the 
159 member countries of the World Trade 
Organisation (WTO), or at the United Nations 
conferences on climate change.

•  The EU takes a clear position on sensitive issues 
affecting ordinary people, such as environmental 
protection, renewable energy resources, the 
‘precautionary principle’ in food safety, the ethical 
aspects of biotechnology, the need to protect 
endangered species, etc.

•  The EU remains at the forefront of global efforts to 

tackle global warming. In December 2008 it 
unilaterally committed itself to a 20 % cut in 
greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

The old saying ‘unity is strength’ is thus as relevant as 
ever to today’s Europeans.

VI. Values

The EU wishes to promote humanitarian and 
progressive values, and ensure that humankind is the 
beneficiary, rather than the victim, of the great global 
changes that are taking place. People’s needs cannot be 
met simply by market forces, or by individual countries 
taking unilateral action.

So the EU stands for a view of humanity and a model 
of society that the great majority of its citizens support. 
Europeans cherish their rich heritage of values, which 
includes a belief in human rights, social solidarity, free 
enterprise, a fair distribution of the fruits of economic 
growth, the right to a protected environment, respect 
for cultural, linguistic and religious diversity and a 
harmonious blend of tradition and progress.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European 
Union was proclaimed in Nice in December 2000. It is 
now legally binding thanks to the Treaty of Lisbon, 
which came into force on 1 December 2009. The 
Charter sets out all the rights recognised today by the 
EU’s Member States and their citizens. Shared rights 
and values create a feeling of kinship between 
Europeans. To take just one example, all EU countries 
have abolished the death penalty.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
6

2. Ten historic steps

 X 1951: The European Coal and Steel Community is set up by the six founding members
 X 1957: The same six countries sign the Treaties of Rome, setting up the European Economic Community 

(EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)

 X 1973: The Communities expand to nine Member States and introduce more common policies
 X 1979: The first direct elections to the European Parliament (EP)
 X 1981: The first Mediterranean enlargement
 X 1992: The European single market becomes a reality
 X 1993: The Treaty of Maastricht establishes the European Union (EU)
 X 2002: The euro comes into circulation
 X 2007: The EU has 27 Member States
 X 2009: The Lisbon Treaty comes into force, changing the way the EU works

1.

2.

On 9 May 1950, the Schuman Declaration proposed the 
establishment of a European Coal and Steel 
Community, which became reality with the Treaty of 
Paris of 18 April 1951. This put in place a common 
market in coal and steel between the six founding 
countries (Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, 
France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands). The 
aim, in the aftermath of the Second World War, was to 
secure peace between Europe’s victorious and 
vanquished nations and bring them together as equals, 
cooperating within shared institutions.

The ‘Six’ then decided, with the Treaties of Rome on 
25 March 1957, to set up a European Atomic Energy 
Community (Euratom) and a European Economic 
Community (EEC). The latter would involve building a 
wider common market covering a whole range of goods 
and services. Customs duties between the six countries 
were abolished on 1 July 1968 and common policies, 
notably on trade and agriculture, were also put in place 
during the 1960s.

3.

So successful was this venture that Denmark, Ireland 
and the United Kingdom decided to join. This first 
enlargement, from six to nine members, took place in 
1973. At the same time, new social and environmental 
policies were introduced, and the European Regional 
Development Fund (ERDF) was set up in 1975.

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On 9 May 1950, French 
Foreign Minister Robert 
Schuman first publicly 
proposed the ideas that led 
to the European Union. So 9 
May is celebrated as the EU’s 
birthday.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
7

Meanwhile, the EU was working on its most spectacular 
project to date — creating a single currency to make 
life easier for businesses, consumers and travellers. On 
1 January 2002, the euro replaced the old currencies of 
12 EU countries, which together made up the ‘euro 
area’. The euro is now a major world currency alongside 
the US dollar.

9.

In the mid-1990s, preparations began for the biggest-
ever EU enlargement. Membership applications were 
received from the six former Soviet bloc countries 
(Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania 
and Slovakia), the three Baltic states that had been part 
of the Soviet Union (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), one 
of the republics of former Yugoslavia (Slovenia) and two 
Mediterranean countries (Cyprus and Malta).

The EU welcomed this chance to help stabilise the 
European continent and to extend the benefits of 
European integration to the young democracies. 
Negotiations opened in December 1997 and 10 of the 
candidate countries joined the European Union on 
1 May 2004. Bulgaria and Romania followed in 2007. 
Croatia joined in 2013, bringing the EU’s membership  
to 28.

10.

To enable it to face the complex challenges of the 21st 
century, the enlarged EU needed a simpler and more 
efficient method for taking its joint decisions. New rules 
had been proposed in a draft EU Constitution, signed in 
October 2004, which would have replaced all the 
existing treaties. But this text was rejected by two 
national referendums in 2005. The Constitution was 
therefore replaced by the Treaty of Lisbon, which was 
signed on 13 December 2007 and came into force on 
1 December 2009. It amends but does not replace the 
previous treaties, and it introduces most of the changes 
that featured in the Constitution. For example, it gives 
the European Council a permanent President and 
creates the post of High Representative of the Union for 
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

At the same time, a worldwide financial and economic 
crisis broke out. This led to the establishment of new EU 
mechanisms to ensure the stability of banks, to reduce 
public debt and to coordinate the economic policies of 
the Member States, particularly those using the euro.

4.

June 1979 saw a decisive step forward, with the first 
elections to the European Parliament by direct universal 
suffrage. These elections are held every 5 years.

5.

In 1981, Greece joined the Communities, followed by 
Spain and Portugal in 1986. This expansion of the 
Communities into southern Europe made it all the more 
necessary to implement regional aid programmes.

6.

The worldwide economic recession in the early 1980s 
brought with it a wave of ‘euro-pessimism’. However, 
hope sprang anew in 1985 when the European 
Commission, under its President Jacques Delors, 
published a White Paper setting out a timetable for 
completing the European single market by 1 January 
1993. This ambitious goal was enshrined in the Single 
European Act, which was signed in February 1986 and 
came into force on 1 July 1987.

7.

The political shape of Europe was dramatically changed 
when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. This led to the 
unification of Germany in October 1990 and the coming 
of democracy to the countries of central and eastern 
Europe as they broke away from Soviet control. The 
Soviet Union itself ceased to exist in December 1991.

At the same time, the EEC Member States were 
negotiating a new treaty, which was adopted by the 
European Council (the meeting of presidents and/or 
prime ministers) at Maastricht in December 1991.  
By adding intergovernmental cooperation (in areas such 
as foreign policy and internal security) to the existing 
Community system, the Maastricht Treaty created the 
European Union (EU). It came into force on 
1 November 1993.

8.

Three more countries — Austria, Finland and Sweden 
— joined the European Union in 1995, bringing its 
membership to 15. By then, Europe was facing the 
growing challenges of globalisation. New technologies 
and the ever-increasing use of the Internet were 
modernising economies but also creating social and 
cultural tensions.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE8

3. Enlarging the EU and getting   
  on with the neighbours

 X The European Union is open to any European country that fulfils the democratic, political and economic 

criteria for membership.

 X Successive enlargements have increased the EU’s membership from 6 to 28 countries. As of 2013, eight 
other countries are either negotiating membership or are at different stages of preparation. Each treaty 
admitting a new member requires the unanimous approval of all Member States. In addition, in advance of 
each new enlargement, the EU must assess its capacity to absorb the new member(s) and the ability of its 
institutions to continue to function properly.

 X Enlarging the European Union has helped strengthen and stabilise democracy and security in Europe and 

increase the continent’s potential for trade and economic growth.

I.  Uniting a continent

(A) A UNION OF 28
When it met in Copenhagen in December 2002, the 
European Council took one of the most momentous 
steps in the history of European integration. By inviting 
12 more countries to join it, the European Union was 
not simply increasing its geographical size and 
population; it was putting an end to the division which 
had split our continent in two since 1945. European 
countries which, for decades, had not enjoyed 
democratic freedom were finally able to rejoin the 
family of democratic European nations. Thus the Czech 
Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, 
Slovenia and Slovakia became EU members in 2004, 
together with the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus and 
Malta. Bulgaria and Romania followed in 2007. Croatia 
joined the process by applying for membership in 2003 
and eventually joining in 2013. All are now partners in 
the momentous project conceived by the EU’s founding 
fathers.

(B) NEGOTIATIONS UNDER WAY
Turkey, a member of NATO with a long-standing 
association agreement with the EU, applied for 
European Union membership in 1987. Given Turkey’s 
geographical location and political history, the EU 
hesitated for a long time before accepting its 
application. However, in October 2005, accession 
negotiations finally began. Some EU countries have 
expressed doubts as to whether Turkey will or should 
become a member of the European Union. They propose 
an alternative arrangement — a ‘privileged partnership’.

The western Balkan countries, most of which were once 
part of Yugoslavia, are also turning to the European 
Union to speed up their economic reconstruction, 
improve their mutual relations (long scarred by ethnic 
and religious wars) and consolidate their democratic 
institutions. The EU has given ‘candidate country’ status 
to Albania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 
Montenegro and Serbia. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a 
potential candidate. Kosovo declared its independence 
in 2008 and could also become a candidate country, 
once the ongoing negotiations on its future have been 
concluded.

Iceland, hit hard by the financial crisis in 2008, applied 
for EU membership in 2009. Accession negotiations 
were put on hold in 2013 at the request of the county 
itself.

II.  Membership conditions

(A) LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
European integration has always been a political and 
economic process, open to all European countries that 
are prepared to sign up to the Treaties and take on 
board the full body of EU law. According to the Lisbon 
Treaty (Article 49), any European state may apply to 
become a member of the European Union provided it 
respects the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for 
human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule 
of law.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINEDs
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The ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’ 
— Dubrovnik in Croatia, the 
EU’s newest Member State.

(B) THE ‘COPENHAGEN CRITERIA’
In 1993, following requests from the former communist 
countries to join the Union, the European Council laid 
down three criteria they should fulfil so as to become 
members. By the time they join, new members must 
have:
•  stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule 

of law, human rights and respect for and protection of 
minorities;

•  a functioning market economy and the capacity to 
cope with competitive pressure and market forces 
within the Union;

•  the ability to take on the obligations of membership, 
including support for the aims of the Union. They 
must have a public administration capable of applying 
and managing EU laws in practice.

(C) THE PROCESS OF BECOMING AN EU MEMBER 

STATE

Membership talks (‘accession negotiations’) take place 
between the candidate country and the European 
Commission, which represents the EU. Once these are 
concluded, the decision to allow this country to join the 
EU must be taken unanimously by the existing Member 
States meeting in the Council. The European Parliament 
must also give its assent, which means an absolute 
majority of its members must vote in favour. The 
accession treaty must then be ratified by the Member 
States and the candidate country, each in accordance 
with its own constitutional procedure.

During the negotiation period, candidate countries 
normally receive ‘pre-accession’ financial aid from the 
EU to help them catch up economically. They also 
usually have ‘stabilisation and association agreements’ 
with the EU. Under these agreements, the EU directly 
monitors the economic and administrative reforms the 
candidate countries have to carry out in order to meet 
the conditions for EU membership.

III. How large can the EU become?

(A) GEOGRAPHICAL FRONTIERS
Public debates on the future of the EU show that that 
many Europeans are concerned about where the 
borders of the European Union should be drawn, and 
even about Europe’s identity. There are no simple 
answers to these questions, particularly since each 
country views its geopolitical or economic interests 
differently. The Baltic countries and Poland are in favour 
of Ukraine joining the EU, so what about Ukraine’s 
neighbours? Difficulties arise from the political situation 
in Belarus and the strategic position of Moldova. If 
Turkey joins the EU, then what about Armenia, Georgia 
and other countries in the Caucasus?

Despite fulfilling the conditions, Liechtenstein, Norway 
and Switzerland are not members of the European 
Union because public opinion in those countries is 
currently against joining.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
Almost all these countries have bilateral ‘partnership 
and cooperation’ agreements or association agreements 
with the EU, under which they are committed to 
common values (such as democracy, human rights and 
the rule of law) and to making progress towards a 
market economy, sustainable development and reducing 
poverty. The EU, for its part, offers financial, technical 
and macroeconomic assistance, easier access to visas 
and a range of measures to help these countries 
develop.

Since 1995, the southern Mediterranean countries have 
been linked to the European Union through political, 
economic and diplomatic ties known as the Euro-
Mediterranean Partnership, bringing together the 28 
Member States of the European Union and 16 partner 
countries across the southern Mediterranean and the 
Middle East.

The EU’s financial assistance to both groups of 
countries is managed by the European Neighbourhood 
and Partnership Instrument (ENPI).

10

In different EU countries, public opinion is more or less 
divided over the question of the European Union’s final 
frontiers. If geographical criteria alone were applied, 
taking no account of democratic values, the EU could 
— like the Council of Europe (not an EU body) — end 
up with 47 member states including Russia. But Russian 
membership would clearly create unacceptable 
imbalances in the European Union, both politically and 
geographically.

The sensible approach is to say that any European 
country is entitled to apply for EU membership provided 
it can take on board the full body of EU law and is 
prepared to adopt the euro. European integration has 
been a continuous process since 1950, and any attempt 
to fix the EU’s boundaries once and for all would run 
counter to that process.

(B) NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY
Enlargements in 2004 and 2007 pushed the European 
Union’s borders further east and south, raising the 
question of how the EU should handle relations with its 
new neighbours. Stability and security are an issue in 
the regions beyond its borders, and the European Union 
wished to avoid the emergence of new dividing lines 
between itself and these neighbouring regions. For 
example, action was needed to tackle emerging threats 
to security such as illegal immigration, the disruption of 
energy supplies, environmental degradation, organised 
cross-border crime and terrorism. So the EU developed 
a new European neighbourhood policy (ENP), governing 
relations with its neighbours to the east (Armenia, 
Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), and 
to the south (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, 
Libya, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria 
and Tunisia).

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The EU gives financial aid to 
help build the economy in 
neighbouring countries.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
11

4. How does the EU work?

 X The EU’s Heads of State and/or Government meet, as the European Council, to set the EU’s overall political 

direction and to take major decisions on key issues.

 X The Council, made up of ministers from the EU Member States, meets frequently to take policy decisions 

and make EU laws.

 X The European Parliament, which represents the people, shares legislative and budgetary power with the 

Council.

 X The European Commission, which represents the common interest of the EU, is the main executive body. It 

puts forward proposals for legislation and ensures that EU policies are properly implemented.

I.  The decision-making institutions

The European Union is more than just a confederation 
of countries, but it is not a federal state. In fact, its 
structure does not fall into any traditional legal 
category. It is historically unique, and its decision-
making system has been constantly evolving for the 
past 60 years or so.

The Treaties (known as ‘primary’ legislation) are the 
basis for a large body of ‘secondary’ legislation which 
has a direct impact on the daily lives of EU citizens. The 
secondary legislation consists mainly of regulations, 
directives and recommendations adopted by the EU 
institutions.

These laws, along with EU policies in general, are the 
result of decisions taken by the Council (representing 
national governments), the European Parliament 
(representing the people) and the European Commission 
(a body independent of EU governments that upholds 
the collective European interest). Other institutions and 
bodies also play a role, as outlined below.

(A) THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL
The European Council is the EU’s top political institution. 
It consists of the Heads of State or Government — the 
presidents and/or prime ministers — of all the EU 
member countries, plus the President of the European 
Commission (see below). It normally meets four times a 
year, in Brussels. It has a permanent President, whose 
job is to coordinate the European Council’s work and 
ensure its continuity. The permanent President is 
elected (by a qualified majority vote of its members) for 
a period of two and a half years and can be re-elected 
once.

The European Council fixes the EU’s goals and sets the 
course for achieving them. It provides the impetus for 
the EU’s main policy initiatives and takes decisions on 
thorny issues that the Council of Ministers has not been 
able to agree on. The European Council also tackles 
current international problems via the ‘common foreign 
and security policy’ — which is a mechanism for 
coordinating the foreign policies of the EU’s Member 
States.

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A more democratic Europe: 
thanks to the Lisbon Treaty, 
European citizens can now 
propose new laws.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
12

(B) THE COUNCIL
The Council (also known as the Council of Ministers) is 
made up of ministers from the EU’s national 
governments. The Member States take it in turns to 
hold the Council Presidency for a 6-month period. Every 
Council meeting is attended by one minister from each 
EU country. Which ministers attend a meeting depends 
on which topic is on the agenda: foreign affairs, 
agriculture, industry, transport, the environment, etc.

The Council’s main job is to pass EU laws. Normally it 
shares this responsibility with the European Parliament. 
The Council and the Parliament also share equal 
responsibility for adopting the EU budget. In addition, 
the Council signs international agreements that have 
been negotiated by the Commission.

According to the Lisbon Treaty, the Council has to take 
its decisions either by a simple majority vote, a 
‘qualified majority’ vote or unanimously, depending on 
the subject to be decided.

The Council has to agree unanimously on important 
questions such as taxation, amending the Treaties, 
launching a new common policy or allowing a new 
country to join the Union.

In most other cases, qualified majority voting is used. 
This means that a Council decision is adopted if a 
specified minimum number of votes are cast in its 
favour. The number of votes allocated to each EU 
country roughly reflects the size of its population.

Until 1 November 2014 a decision is adopted if:
•  at least 260 of the 352 votes (i.e. 73.9 %) are cast in 

favour;

•  it is approved by a majority of Member States;
•  if these favourable Member States represent at least 

62 % of the EU’s population.

From 1 November 2014, according to the Lisbon Treaty, 
the system will be simplified. A decision will be adopted 
if 55 % of the Member States are in favour of it and if 
they represent at least 65 % of the EU’s population.

(C) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (EP)
The European Parliament is the elected body that 
represents the EU’s citizens. It supervises the EU’s 
activities and, together with the Council, it enacts EU 
legislation. Since 1979, members of the European 
Parliament (MEPs) have been directly elected, by 
universal suffrage, every 5 years.

In 2011, a German, Martin Schultz (Progressive Alliance 
of Socialists and Democrats), was elected President of 
the Parliament.

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The European Parliament 
— this is where you can 
make your voice heard.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
NUMBER OF SEATS IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

PER COUNTRY 

Austria

Belgium

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

United Kingdom

Total

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Parliament holds its major debates at monthly 
gatherings (known as ‘plenary sessions’) attended, in 
principle, by all MEPs. These plenary sessions are 
normally held in Strasbourg, and any additional 
sessions are held in Brussels. The preparatory work is 
also usually done in Brussels: the ‘Conference of 
Presidents’ — i.e. the chairmen of the political groups 
together with the President of Parliament — sets the 
agenda for the plenary sessions while 20 parliamentary 
committees draft the legislative amendments that are 
to be debated. Parliament’s day-to-day administrative 
work is done by its General Secretariat, based in 
Luxembourg and Brussels. Each political group also has 
its own secretariat.

The Parliament takes part in the legislative work of the 
EU in two ways.

1.  Via ‘co-decision’, which is the ordinary legislative 
procedure, Parliament shares equal responsibility 
with the Council for legislating in all policy areas that 
require a ‘qualified majority’ vote in the Council. 
Since the Lisbon Treaty came into force, these areas 
cover about 95 % of EU legislation. Council and 
Parliament can reach an agreement as soon as the 
first reading. If they cannot agree after two readings, 
the proposal is brought before a conciliation 
committee.

2.  Via the ‘assent’ procedure, Parliament must ratify the 
EU’s international agreements (negotiated by the 
Commission), including any new treaty enlarging the 
European Union.

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17

11

6

21

13

6

13

74

96

21

21

11

73

8

11

6

6

26

51

21

32

13

8

54

20

73

751

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE14

The European Parliament also shares with the Council 
equal responsibility for adopting the EU budget 
(proposed by the European Commission). The 
Parliament can reject the proposed budget, and it has 
already done so on several occasions. When this 
happens, the entire budget procedure has to be 
restarted. By using its budgetary powers Parliament 
exercises considerable influence over EU policymaking.

Last but not least, the European Parliament exercises 
democratic supervision over the Union, and in particular 
over the European Commission. Every 5 years, when the 
time comes to appoint a new Commission, the newly 
elected European Parliament can — by a simple 
majority vote — approve or reject the European 
Council’s nominee for the post of Commission President. 
Clearly, this vote will reflect the results of the recent EP 
elections. Parliament also interviews each proposed 
member of the Commission before voting on whether to 
approve the new Commission as a whole.

At any time, Parliament can dismiss the whole 
Commission by adopting a motion of censure. This 
requires a two thirds majority. Parliament also 
supervises the day-to-day management of EU policies 
by putting oral and written questions to the Commission 
and the Council.

(D) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The Commission is a key EU institution. It alone has the 
right to draw up proposals for new EU legislation, which 
it sends to the Council and Parliament for discussion 
and adoption.

Its members are appointed for a 5-year term by 
agreement between the Member States, subject to 
approval by the European Parliament (as described 
above). The Commission is answerable to the 
Parliament, and the entire Commission has to resign if 
the Parliament passes a motion of censure against it.

There is one Commission member (‘Commissioner’) 
from each EU country, including the Commission 
President and the High Representative of the Union for 
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, who is one of the 
Commission’s vice-presidents.

The Commission enjoys a substantial degree of 
independence in exercising its powers. Its job is to 
uphold the common interest, which means that it must 
not take instructions from any national government. As 
‘Guardian of the Treaties’, it has to ensure that the 
regulations and directives adopted by the Council and 
Parliament are being implemented in the Member 
States. If they are not, the Commission can take the 
offending party to the Court of Justice to oblige it to 
comply with EU law.

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The Court of Justice ensures 
that European law is fully 
respected. It has, for 
example, confirmed that 
discrimination of 
handicapped workers is 
forbidden.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
15

II.  Other bodies

(A) THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 

COMMITTEE

When taking decisions in a number of policy areas, the 
Council and Commission consult the European Economic 
and Social Committee (EESC). Its members represent 
the various economic and social interest groups that 
collectively make up ‘organised civil society’, and are 
appointed by the Council for a 5-year term.

(B) THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) consists of 
representatives of regional and local government. They 
are proposed by the Member States and appointed by 
the Council for a 5-year term. The Council and 
Commission must consult the CoR on matters of 
relevance to the regions, and it may also issue opinions 
on its own initiative.

(C) THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK
The European Investment Bank (EIB), based in 
Luxembourg, provides loans and guarantees to help the 
EU’s less developed regions and to help make 
businesses more competitive.

As the EU’s executive arm, the Commission implements 
the decisions taken by the Council in areas such as the 
common agricultural policy. It has wide powers to 
manage the EU’s common policies, such as research 
and technology, overseas aid and regional development. 
It also manages the budget for these policies.

The Commissioners are assisted by a civil service, based 
mainly in Brussels and Luxembourg, divided into 44 
departments and services. There are also a number of 
agencies, set up to carry out specific tasks for the 
Commission and mostly located in other European 
cities.

(E)  THE COURT OF JUSTICE
The Court of Justice of the European Union, located in 
Luxembourg, is made up of one judge from each EU 
country, assisted by eight advocates-general. They are 
appointed by joint agreement of the governments of 
the Member States for a renewable term of 6 years. 
Their independence is guaranteed. The Court’s role is to 
ensure that EU law is complied with, and that the 
Treaties are correctly interpreted and applied.

((F) THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK
The European Central Bank (ECB), in Frankfurt, is 
responsible for managing the euro and the EU’s 
monetary policy (see Chapter 7 ‘The euro’). Its main 
tasks are to maintain price stability and to supervise 
banks in the euro area.

(G) THE COURT OF AUDITORS
The European Court of Auditors, located in Luxembourg, 
was established in 1975. It has one member from each 
EU country, appointed for a term of 6 years by 
agreement between the Member States following 
consultation of the European Parliament. It checks that 
all the European Union’s revenue has been received and 
all its expenditure incurred in a lawful and regular 
manner and that the EU budget has been managed 
soundly.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE16

5. What does the EU do?

 X The European Union acts in a wide range of policy areas where its action is beneficial to the Member States. 

These include:
—  innovation policies, which bring state-of-the-art technologies to fields such as environmental protection, 

research and development (R & D) and energy;

—  solidarity policies (also known as cohesion policies) in regional, agricultural and social affairs.

 X The Union funds these policies through an annual budget which enables it to complement and add value to 

action taken by national governments. The EU budget is small by comparison with the collective wealth of its 
Member States: it represents no more than 1.06 % of their combined gross national income.

I. 

Innovation policies

The European Union’s activities impact on the day-to-
day life of its citizens by addressing the real challenges 
facing society: environmental protection, health, 
technological innovation, energy, etc.

(A) THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE 

DEVELOPMENT

The EU aims to help prevent climate change by 
seriously reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. In 
December 2008, the European Council agreed that, by 
2020, the European Union would cut its emissions by at 
least 20 % (compared with 1990 levels), raise 
renewable energy’s share of the market to 20 % and 
cut overall energy consumption by 20 %.

The EU countries have agreed on binding legislation 
intended to achieve this. Much of the effort is about 
investing in new technology, which also creates 

economic growth and jobs. An EU-wide ‘emission 
trading scheme’ aims to ensure that the required 
reductions in the emission of harmful gases are carried 
out efficiently.

The EU is also tackling a wide range of other 
environmental issues including noise, waste, the 
protection of natural habitats, exhaust gases, 
chemicals, industrial accidents and the cleanliness of 
bathing water. It is also planning a collective approach 
to preventing natural or man-made disasters such as oil 
spills or forest fires.

The European Union is constantly improving its 
legislation to provide better protection for public health. 
For example, EU legislation on chemicals has been 
reworked, replacing earlier piecemeal rules with a single 
system known as REACH — which stands for the 
Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals. 
This system uses a central database, managed by the 
European Chemicals Agency, located in Helsinki. The aim 

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The EU is at the forefront of 
the fight to prevent climate 
change and encourage 
sustainable development.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
17

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The EU encourages 
innovation and research such 
as ‘Galileo’, Europe’s own 
global navigation satellite 
system.

is to prevent contamination of the air, water, soil and 
buildings, to preserve biodiversity and to improve the 
health and safety of EU citizens while at the same time 
keeping European industry competitive.

(B) TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION
The founders of the European Union rightly saw that 
Europe’s future prosperity would depend on its ability to 
remain a world leader in technology. They saw the 
advantages to be gained from joint European research. 
So, in 1958, alongside the EEC, they established 
Euratom — the European Atomic Energy Community. Its 
aim was for EU countries together to exploit nuclear 
energy for peaceful purposes, with the help of a Joint 
Research Centre (JRC). This consists of seven institutes 
at five locations: Ispra (Italy), Karlsruhe (Germany), 
Petten (the Netherlands), Geel (Belgium) and Seville 
(Spain).

However, to keep pace with increasing global 
competition, European research had to diversify — and 
to break down the barriers between national research 
programmes, bringing together as wide a variety of 
scientists as possible and helping them find industrial 
applications for their discoveries.

Joint research at EU level is designed to complement 
national research programmes. It focuses on projects 
that bring together a number of laboratories in several 
EU countries. It also supports fundamental research in 
fields such as controlled thermonuclear fusion — a 
potentially inexhaustible source of energy for the 21st 
century. Moreover, it encourages research and 
technological development in key industries such as 
electronics and computers, which face stiff competition 
from outside Europe.

The EU’s goal is to spend 3 % of its GDP on research. 
The main vehicle for funding EU research is a series of 
‘framework’ programmes. The seventh research and 
technological development framework programme 
covers the period 2007–13. Most of the €50 billion-plus 
budget is being spent on research in areas like health, 
food and agriculture, information and communication 
technologies, nanosciences, energy, the environment, 
transport, security and space and socioeconomic 
sciences. Other programmes promote international 
cooperation on leading-edge research projects and 
provide support for researchers and their career 
development.

(C) ENERGY
Fossil fuels — oil, natural gas and coal — provide 
about 75 % of the energy consumed in the EU. A large 
and growing proportion of these fossil fuels is imported 
from outside the EU. At present, over half of all energy 
sources are imported. The EU will thus be more 
vulnerable to cuts in supply or price hikes caused by 
international crises. Another reason to reduce its 
consumption of fossil fuels is to reverse the process of 
global warming.

Various steps will have to be taken in future, such as 
saving energy by using it more intelligently, developing 
alternative energy sources (particularly renewable 
energy sources in Europe), and increasing international 
cooperation. Energy R & D in Europe focuses on solar, 
wind, biomass and nuclear power. There are also pilot 
projects to develop CO2 capture and storage and to 
make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles commercially viable. 
The EU has also invested in the ‘clean sky’ project for 
developing less polluting aircraft which has a budget of 
€1.6 billion.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
18

II.  Solidarity policies

To make sure the single market (see Chapter 6) works 
properly, imbalances in that market need to be 
corrected. That is the purpose of the EU’s ‘solidarity 
policies’, designed to help underdeveloped regions and 
troubled sectors of the economy. The EU must also play 
its part in helping restructure industries which have 
been hard hit by fast-growing international competition.

(A) REGIONAL AID AND COHESION POLICY 
Under the EU’s 2014–20 budget, the EU’s cohesion 
policy will invest €325 billion in Europe’s Member 
States, their regions and cities, to promote the EU-wide 
goals of creating growth and jobs, as well as tackling 
climate change, energy dependence and social 
exclusion.

These objectives are financed by specific EU funds, 
which top up or stimulate investment by the private 
sector and by national and regional governments:

•  The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is 
used to finance regional development projects and to 
boost the economy in regions that are lagging behind. 
This includes the redevelopment of declining 
industrial areas.

•  The European Social Fund (ESF) is used to finance 
vocational training and to help people find work.

•  The Cohesion Fund finances transport infrastructure 
and environmental projects in EU countries whose 
GDP per capita is lower than 90 % of the EU average.

(B) THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY (CAP) AND 

COMMON FISHERIES POLICY (CFP)

The aims of the CAP, as set out in the original Treaty of 
Rome from 1957, were to ensure a fair standard of 
living for farmers, to stabilise markets, to ensure that 
supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices and to 
modernise farming infrastructure. These goals have 
largely been achieved. Moreover, consumers today enjoy 
security of supply and the prices of agricultural 
products are kept stable, protected from fluctuations on 
the world market. The policy is financed by the 
European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the 
European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD).

However, the CAP became a victim of its own success. 
Production grew far faster than consumption, placing a 
heavy burden on the EU budget. In order to resolve this 
problem, agricultural policy had to be redefined. This 
reform is beginning to show results: production has 
been curbed.

The new role of the farming community is to ensure a 
certain amount of economic activity in every rural area 
and to protect the diversity of Europe’s countryside. This 
diversity and the recognition of a ‘rural way of life’ — 
people living in harmony with the land — are an 
important part of Europe’s identity. Furthermore, 
European agriculture has an important role to play in 
combating climate change, protecting wildlife and 
feeding the world.

The European Commission represents the EU in 
international negotiations at the World Trade 
Organisation (WTO). The EU wants the WTO to put more 
emphasis on food quality, the precautionary principle 
(‘better safe than sorry’) and animal welfare.

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Agriculture must provide safe 
food of good quality. 

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
The European Commission wants the CAP to give 
priority to making European agriculture sustainable, 
giving farmers sufficient protection from volatile 
markets, preserving biodiversity and protecting local 
and regional speciality products.

The European Union has also reformed its fisheries 
policy. The main aim of the reform is to preserve stocks 
of fish (such as the endangered bluefin tuna) and to 
reduce the overcapacity of fishing fleets while providing 
financial assistance for people who leave the fishing 
industry.

(C) THE SOCIAL DIMENSION
The aim of the EU’s social policy is to correct the most 
glaring inequalities in European society. The European 
Social Fund (ESF) was established in 1961 to promote 
job creation and help workers move from one type of 
work and/or one geographical area to another.

Financial aid is not the only way in which the EU seeks 
to improve social conditions in Europe. Aid alone could 
never solve all the problems caused by economic 
recession or by regional underdevelopment. The 
dynamic effects of growth must, above all, encourage 
social progress. This goes hand in hand with legislation 
that guarantees a solid set of minimum rights. Some of 
these rights are enshrined in the Treaties, e.g. the right 
of women and men to equal pay for equal work. Others 
are set out in directives concerning the protection of 
workers (health and safety at work) and essential 
safety standards.

The Charter of Basic Social Rights, which became an 
integral part of the Treaty in 1997, sets out the rights 
that all workers in the EU should enjoy: free movement; 
fair pay; improved working conditions; social protection; 
the right to form associations and to undertake 
collective bargaining; the right to vocational training; 
equal treatment of women and men; worker 
information, consultation and participation; health 
protection and safety at the workplace; protection for 
children, the elderly and the disabled.

19

III. Paying for Europe: the EU budget

To fund its policies, the European Union has an annual 
budget which, in 2014, amounted to more than 
€142 billion. This is 1.06 % of the total gross national 
income of all the Member States put together.

This budget is financed by what are called the EU’s ‘own 
resources’. These resources are mainly drawn from:

•  customs duties on products imported into the EU, 

including farm levies;

•  a percentage of the value added tax (VAT) levied on 

goods and services throughout the EU;

•  contributions from the Member States, reflecting the 

wealth of each country.

The breakdown in spending can be illustrated by the 
2014 budget:

•  smart and inclusive growth: €64 billion, including the 
Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund, the research 
programmes and the trans-European transport and 
energy networks;

•  natural resources: €60 billion, mainly for farming, 

rural development and the environment;

•  security and citizenship (see Chapter 10): €2 billion;
•  the EU as a global partner (aid, trade, etc.): €8 billion;
•  administrative expenses: €8 billion.

Each annual budget is part of a 7-year budget cycle 
known as the ‘multiannual financial framework’. This is 
drawn up by the European Commission and requires 
unanimous approval from the Member States and 
negotiation and agreement with the European 
Parliament. The multiannual financial framework for the 
period 2014–20 was decided in 2013. The overall 
spending limit was reduced by about 3 % in real terms 
compared to the previous period of 2007–13.

This spending plan nevertheless seeks to increase 
growth and jobs in Europe, encourage greener 
agriculture and establish a more environment-conscious 
and internationally prominent Europe. There are funding 
increases for research and innovation, education and 
training and external relations. Specific funds will be 
used to fight crime and terrorism, and for migration and 
asylum policies. Climate spending is expected to 
represent at least 20 % of EU spending in the period 
2014–20.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE20

WHO DOES WHAT? HOW RESPONSIBILITIES ARE SHAREDBETWEEN THE EU AND ITS MEMBER STATES

THE EUROPEAN UNION ALONE 
IS RESPONSIBLE FOR:

THE EUROPEAN UNION AND 
ITS MEMBER STATES SHARE 
RESPONSIBILITY FOR:

▶ customs union

▶ rules governing competition within the single market

▶ monetary policy for countries using the euro

▶ conservation of marine biological resources under  

the common fisheries policy

▶ common commercial policy

▶ concluding an international agreement when this is provided  

for in EU legislation

▶ the single market

▶ aspects of social policy as defined in the Lisbon Treaty

▶ economic and social cohesion

▶ agriculture and fisheries, except for the conservation of marine 

biological resources

▶ the environment

▶ consumer protection

▶ transport

▶ trans-European networks

▶ energy

▶ creating an area of freedom, security and justice

▶ aspects of common security challenges relating to public health, as 

defined in the Treaty of Lisbon

▶ research, technological development and space

▶ development cooperation and humanitarian aid

▶ protection and improvement of human health

▶ industry

▶ culture

▶ tourism

▶ education, vocational training, youth and sport

▶ civil protection

▶ administrative cooperation

FIELDS FOR WHICH THE 
MEMBER STATES REMAIN 
RESPONSIBLE AND IN WHICH 
THE EU MAY PLAY A 
SUPPORTING OR 
COORDINATING ROLE:

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED21

6. The single market

 X The single market is one of the European Union’s greatest achievements. Restrictions on trade and free 

competition between member countries have gradually been eliminated, thus helping standards of living to 
rise.

 X The single market has not yet become a single economy: some sectors (in particular services of general 
interest) are still subject to national laws. Freedom to provide services is beneficial, as it stimulates 
economic activity.

 X The financial crisis that started in 2008 has led the EU to tighten up its financial legislation.
 X Over the years the EU has introduced a number of policies (on transport, competition, etc.) to help ensure 

that as many businesses and consumers as possible benefit from opening up the single market.

I.  Achieving the 1993 objective

II.  Progress on building the single market

(A) THE LIMITS OF THE COMMON MARKET
The 1957 Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community (EEC) made it possible to abolish customs 
barriers between the member countries and to apply a 
common customs tariff to goods from non-EEC 
countries. This objective was achieved on 1 July 1968.

However, customs duties are only one aspect of 
protectionism. In the 1970s, other trade barriers 
hampered the complete achievement of the common 
market. Technical norms, health and safety standards, 
exchange controls and national regulations on the right 
to practice certain professions all restricted the free 
movement of people, goods and capital.

(B) THE 1993 OBJECTIVE
In June 1985, the Commission, under its President 
Jacques Delors, published a White Paper setting out 
plans to abolish, within 7 years, all physical, technical 
and tax-related barriers to free movement within the 
EEC. The aim was to stimulate the growth of trade and 
industrial activity within the ‘single market’ — a large, 
unified economic area on a par with the United States.

Negotiations between the Member State governments 
led to a new treaty — the Single European Act, which 
came into force in July 1987. Its provisions included:
•  extending the powers of the EEC in some policy areas 
(such as social policy, research and the environment);

•  establishing the single market by the end of 1992;
•  making more frequent use of majority voting in the 

Council of Ministers, to make it easier to take 
decisions about the single market.

(A) PHYSICAL BARRIERS
All border controls within the EU on goods have been 
abolished, together with customs controls on people, 
but the police still carry out random spot checks as part 
of the fight against crime and drugs.

In June 1985, five of the 10 Member States signed the 
Schengen Agreement under which their national police 
forces undertook to work together, and a common 
asylum and visa policy was set up. This made it possible 
to completely abolish checks on persons at the borders 
between the Schengen countries (see Chapter 10: ‘A 
Europe of freedom, security and justice). Today, the 
Schengen area is made up of 26 European countries, 
including four which are not members of the European 
Union (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).

(B) TECHNICAL BARRIERS
EU countries have agreed to recognise one another’s 
rules on the sale of most goods. Since the famous 
‘Cassis de Dijon’ ruling by the European Court of Justice 
in 1979, any product legally manufactured and sold in 
one Member State must be allowed to be placed on the 
market in all others.

Where services are concerned, EU countries mutually 
recognise or coordinate their national rules allowing 
people to practice professions such as law, medicine, 
tourism, banking or insurance. However, freedom of 
movement for persons is far from complete. In spite of 
the 2005 directive on the recognition of professional 
qualifications, obstacles still hinder people from moving 
to another EU country or doing certain types of work 
there. Nevertheless, qualified people (whether lawyers 
or doctors, builders or plumbers) are increasingly free to 
practice their profession anywhere in the European 
Union.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE22

By opening up the 
telecommunications market 
to competition, the EU has 
brought about drastic cost 
reductions.

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The European Commission has taken action to improve 
worker mobility, and particularly to ensure that 
educational diplomas and job qualifications obtained in 
one EU country are recognised in all the others.

greater protection for bank deposits, increase the 
amount of capital banks must hold so as to make them 
more stable, regulate complicated financial products 
and put limits on bank executives’ bonuses.

(C) TAX BARRIERS
Tax barriers have been reduced by partially aligning 
national VAT rates, which must be agreed by the EU 
Member States. Moreover, in July 2005, an agreement 
came into force between the EU Member States and 
some other countries (including Switzerland) on taxing 
investment income.

(B) PIRACY AND COUNTERFEITING
EU products need protection from piracy and 
counterfeiting. The European Commission estimates 
that these crimes cost the EU thousands of jobs each 
year. This is why the Commission and national 
governments are working on extending copyright and 
patent protection.

(D) PUBLIC CONTRACTS
Regardless of who awards them, public contracts in any 
EU country are now open to bidders from anywhere in 
the EU. This is thanks to EU directives covering services, 
supplies and works in many sectors, including water, 
energy and telecommunications.

The single market benefits all consumers. For example, 
opening up national markets for services has brought 
down the price of telephone calls to a fraction of what 
they were 10 years ago. Competitive pressure has also 
significantly reduced air fares in Europe.

III. Work in progress

(A) FINANCIAL SERVICES
In 2008, in the wake of the ‘sub-prime’ mortgage crisis 
in the United States, a massive financial crisis rocked 
the world’s banking systems and economies, and 
plunged the European Union into recession in 2009. 
Part of the subsequent reaction was to reform the 
financial system so as to make it more transparent and 
accountable. Europe-wide supervisory authorities have 
been set up to oversee banks. New EU rules provide 

IV. Policies underpinning the single 

market

(A) TRANSPORT
The EU’s activities have focused mainly on ensuring the 
freedom to provide services in land transport. In 
particular, this means giving transport companies free 
access to the international transport market and 
allowing transport firms from any EU country to operate 
in all other EU countries. The EU is also working to 
ensure fair competition in road transport, by (for 
example) harmonising the rules on worker qualifications 
and market access, the freedom to establish a business 
and provide services, driving times and road safety.

Air transport in Europe used to be dominated by 
national flag carriers and state-owned airports. The 
single market has changed all that. All EU airlines may 
now operate air services on any route within the EU and 
set fares at any level they choose. Consequently, many 
new routes have been opened up and prices have fallen 
dramatically. Passengers, airlines, airports and 
employees have all benefited.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
23

Similarly, passengers are benefiting from increasing 
competition between railway companies. From 2010, 
for example, stations on high-speed lines in France and 
Italy are served by both French and Italian trains.

Shipping — whether carried out by European companies 
or by vessels flying the flag of non-EU countries — is 
subject to EU competition rules. These rules are 
intended to combat unfair pricing practices (flags of 
convenience) and also to address the serious difficulties 
facing the shipbuilding industry in Europe.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the European 
Union has been funding ambitious new technology 
projects such as the Galileo satellite navigation system, 
the European rail traffic management system and 
SESAR — a programme for modernising air navigation 
systems. Road traffic safety rules (on things like vehicle 
maintenance, the transport of dangerous goods and the 
safety of roads) have been made much tougher. 
Passengers’ rights are also better protected thanks to 
the Charter of Air Passengers’ Rights and recent 
European legislation on rail passengers’ rights. A list of 
unsafe airlines banned within the EU was first published 
in 2005.

(B) COMPETITION
The EU’s competition policy is essential for ensuring 
that, within the European single market, competition is 
not only free but also fair. The European Commission 
implements this policy and, together with the Court of 
Justice, ensures that it is respected.

The purpose of this policy is to prevent any business 
cartel, any aid from public authorities or any unfair 
monopoly from distorting free competition within the 
single market.

Any agreement falling under the Treaty rules must be 
notified to the European Commission by the companies 
or bodies concerned. The Commission may impose a 
fine directly on any company which breaks the 
competition rules or fail to make the required 
notification — as in the case of Microsoft, which was 
fined €900 million in 2008.

If an EU Member State illegally grants aid, or fails to 
notify aid, the Commission may demand that it be 
repaid. The Commission must also be notified of any 
merger or takeover that could lead to a company having 
a dominant position in a particular market.

(C) PROTECTING CONSUMERS AND PUBLIC HEALTH
EU legislation in this field aims to give all consumers 
the same degree of financial and health protection, 
regardless of where in the European Union they live, 
travel or do their shopping. The need for EU-wide 
protection came into sharp focus in the late 1990s with 
scares over food safety issues such as ‘mad cow 
disease’ (BSE). To provide a sound scientific foundation 
for food safety legislation, the European Food Safety 
Authority (EFSA) was set up in 2002.

Europe-wide consumer protection is needed in many 
other fields too, which is why there are numerous EU 
directives on the safety of cosmetics, toys, fireworks, 
etc. In 1993 the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) 
was set up to handle applications for European 
marketing authorisations for medicinal products. No 
medicine can be marketed in the EU without 
authorisation.

The European Union also takes action to protect 
consumers from false and misleading advertising, 
defective products and abuses in areas such as 
consumer credit and mail-order or Internet selling.

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New EU rules on economic 
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have helped to clean up and 
strengthen the banking 
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EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
24

7. The euro

 X The euro is the single currency shared by 18 of the 28 Member States of the European Union. It came into 
use for non-cash transactions in 1999 and for all payments in 2002, when euro notes and coins were 
issued.

 X Each of the new EU Member States is expected to adopt the euro once it meets the necessary criteria. In the 

long run, virtually all EU countries should join the euro area.

 X The euro gives consumers in Europe considerable advantages. Travellers are spared the cost and 

inconvenience of changing currencies. Shoppers can directly compare prices in different countries. Prices are 
stable thanks to the European Central Bank, whose job it is to maintain this stability. Moreover, the euro has 
become a major reserve currency, alongside the US dollar. During the recent financial crisis, having a 
common currency protected euro area countries from competitive devaluation and from attack by 
speculators.

 X The structural weakness of some Member States’ economies does expose the euro to speculative attacks. To 
counter this risk, the EU has set up solidarity instruments that have helped the most indebted governments 
through the crisis. The key issue for the future is how to achieve closer coordination and greater economic 
solidarity between the Member States, which need to ensure good governance of their public finances and to 
reduce their budget deficits.

I.  How the euro was created

II.  Economic and monetary union

(A) THE EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM
In 1971, the United States decided to abolish the fixed 
link between the dollar and the official price of gold, 
which had ensured global monetary stability after the 
Second World War. This put an end to the system of 
fixed exchange rates. The governors of the EEC 
countries’ central banks decided to limit exchange rate 
fluctuations between their currencies to no more than 
2.25 %, thus creating the ‘European monetary system’ 
(EMS), which came into operation in March 1979.

(B) FROM EMS TO EMU
At the European Council in Madrid in June 1989, EU 
leaders adopted a three-stage plan for economic and 
monetary union (EMU). This plan became part of the 
Maastricht Treaty on European Union adopted by the 
European Council in December 1991.

(A) THE THREE STAGES
The first stage, which began on 1 July 1990, involved:
•  completely free movement of capital within the EU 

(abolition of exchange controls);

•  increasing the Structural Funds so as to step up 
efforts to remove inequalities between European 
regions;

•  economic convergence, through the multilateral 

surveillance of Member States’ economic policies.

The second stage began on 1 January 1994. It involved:
•  setting up the European Monetary Institute (EMI) in 
Frankfurt; the EMI was made up of the governors of 
the central banks of the EU countries;

•  making (or keeping) national central banks 

independent of government control;

•  introducing rules to curb national budget deficits.

The third stage was the birth process of the euro. From 
1 January 1999 to 1 January 2002, the euro was 
phased in as the common currency of EU countries that 
participated (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, 
Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, 
Portugal and Finland). The European Central Bank (ECB) 
took over from the EMI and became responsible for 
monetary policy, which was now defined and 
implemented in the new currency.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED25

(C) THE STABILITY AND GROWTH PACT
In June 1997, the Amsterdam European Council 
adopted a Stability and Growth Pact. This was a 
permanent commitment to budgetary stability, and 
made it possible for penalties to be imposed on any 
country in the euro area whose budget deficit exceeded 
3 % of GDP. The pact was reinforced in 2011. The same 
idea was further strengthened in 2012 when the 
governments of 25 EU countries signed an international 
agreement entitled the ‘Treaty on Stability, Coordination 
and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union’. 
It is also known as the ‘Fiscal Compact’ and obliged the 
participating countries to enshrine rules on a balanced 
budget into national law.

(D) THE EUROGROUP
The Eurogroup consists of the finance ministers from 
the euro area countries. They meet to coordinate their 
economic policies and to monitor their countries’ 
budgetary and financial policies. The Eurogroup also 
represents the euro’s interests in international forums. 
In January 2013, the Dutch finance minister, Jeroen 
Dijsselbloem, was elected President of the Eurogroup 
for a period of two and a half years.

Three countries (Denmark, Sweden and the United 
Kingdom) decided, for political and technical reasons, 
not to adopt the euro when it was launched. Slovenia 
joined the euro area in 2007, followed by Cyprus and 
Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, Estonia in 2011 and 
Latvia in 2014.

The euro area thus embraces 18 EU countries, and each 
of the new Member States will join once it has met the 
necessary conditions.

(B) THE CONVERGENCE CRITERIA
In order to join the euro area, each EU country must 
meet the following five convergence criteria.
•  Price stability: the rate of inflation may not exceed 
by more than 1.5 % the average rates of inflation of 
the three Member States with the lowest inflation.
•  Interest rates: long-term interest rates may not vary 
by more than 2 % in relation to the average interest 
rates of the three Member States with the lowest 
interest rates.

•  Deficits: national budget deficits must be below 3 % 

of GDP.

•  Public debt: this may not exceed 60 % of GDP.
•  Exchange rate stability: exchange rates must have 

remained within the authorised margin of fluctuation 
for the previous 2 years.

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Tallin, the capital of Estonia, 
where the euro replaced the 
‘kroon’ in January 2011.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
26

(E)  MACROECONOMIC CONVERGENCE SINCE 2008: 

THE EFFECTS OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

The 2008 financial crisis considerably increased public 
debt in most EU countries. Nevertheless, the euro 
shielded the most vulnerable economies from the risk 
of devaluation as they endured the crisis and faced 
attacks by speculators.

At the start of the crisis, many banks ran into trouble 
leading them to be bailed out by national governments, 
thereby increasing public debt. Attention subsequently 
turned to government debt, as some heavily indebted 
countries with worsening budget deficits were 
particularly targeted during the winter of 2009–10. It 
was for this reason that EU leaders set up the 
‘European Stability Mechanism’. This ‘firewall’ has a 
lending capacity of €500 billion in funds guaranteed by 
the euro countries, and is used to safeguard financial 
stability in the euro area. During the years 2010–13, 
five countries have made agreements with the various 
EU bodies and the IMF for financial assistance (Ireland, 
Greece, Spain, Cyprus and Portugal). The agreements 
were adapted to the situation in each country, but 
typically included reforms to improve the efficiency of 
the public sector in the country concerned. By the end 
of 2013 Ireland was the first country to successfully 
complete the agreed economic adjustment programme 
and to begin again to borrow money directly on the 
capital markets.

As part of the response to the crisis, the EU’s Member 
States and institutions also brought into play provisions 
of the Treaty of Lisbon designed to strengthen the EU’s 
economic governance: prior discussion of national 
budget plans; monitoring national economies and 
tightening the rules on competitiveness, with sanctions 
to be applied if countries breach the financial rules. This 
process takes places the first 6 months of every year 
and is called the ‘European Semester’.

Thus, in response to global financial and economic 
change, the European Union is having to take tougher 
action to ensure that Member States manage their 
budgets responsibly and support one another 
financially. This is the only way to ensure that the euro 
remains credible as a single currency and that the 
Member States can, together, face the economic 
challenges of globalisation. Both the Commission and 
European Parliament stress the importance of 
coordinating national economic and social policies, since 
— in the long run — Europe’s common currency is not 
viable without some form of common economic 
governance.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED27

8. Building on knowledge and innovation

The Europe 2020 strategy aims to:
 X respond to globalisation and the economic crisis by making the European economy competitive again 

(telecommunications, services, energy, new green technologies for sustainable development);

 X ensure:

—  smart growth: fostering knowledge, innovation, education and digital society;
—  sustainable growth: promoting a more resource efficient, greener and more competitive economy;
—  inclusive growth: fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion.

At the beginning of the 1990s, two great changes 
began transforming economies and daily life throughout 
the world, including Europe. One was globalisation, as 
economies everywhere became increasingly 
interdependent. The other was the technological 
revolution, including the Internet and new information 
and communication technologies.

In response, in the year 2000, the EU adoped a strategy 
aimed at modernising the European economy, which 
was named the ‘Lisbon process’.

More recently, the world was rocked by major financial 
and economic crises which caused a severe economic 
downturn and increased unemployment in Europe. The 
Lisbon process was succeeded in 2010 by the ‘Europe 
2020’ strategy which encompasses a number of 
different initiatives designed to make European 
economies more productive and to increase social 
cohesion.

As part of this strategy, the 28 EU Member States have 
agreed to:

•  give the European Commission a greater role in 
driving the process forward, in particular by 
disseminating ‘best practice’ in Europe;

•  move faster to reform their financial markets and 

social security systems and to open up their 
telecommunications and energy sectors to 
competition;

•  improve their education systems, do more to help 

young people find jobs, forge stronger links between 
universities and businesses and continue the 
Erasmus, Leonardo and Erasmus Mundus 
programmes;

•  take swifter action (e.g. by harmonising their tax and 
social security arrangements) to create a European 
‘single market’ for research — enabling scientists, 
knowledge and technology to move freely around 
Europe;

•  increase spending on research and innovation to 3 % 
of GDP (a goal also adopted by the United States).

Every spring, the European Council meets to review 
progress in implementing this strategy.

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To keep up with global 
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and innovation.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
 
 
 
28

9. What does it mean to be a   
  European citizen?

 X Citizens of European Union countries can travel, live and work anywhere in the EU.
 X The EU encourages and funds programmes, particularly in the fields of education and culture, to bring EU 

citizens closer together.

 X A sense of belonging to the European Union will develop only gradually, as the EU achieves tangible results 

and explains more clearly what it is doing for people.

 X People recognise symbols of shared European identity such as the single currency and the European flag 

and anthem.

 X A ‘European public sphere’ is beginning to emerge, with Europe-wide political parties. Citizens vote every 

5 years for a new European Parliament, which then votes on the new European Commission.

Citizenship of the European Union is enshrined in the EU 
Treaty: ‘Every person holding the nationality of a 
Member State shall be a citizen of the Union. 
Citizenship of the Union shall be additional to and not 
replace national citizenship’ (Article 20(1) of the Treaty 
on the Functioning of the European Union). But what 
does EU citizenship mean in practice?

You can work in the health, education and other public 
services (except for the police, armed forces, etc.) of 
any country in the European Union. Indeed, what could 
be more natural than recruiting a British teacher to 
teach English in Rome, or encouraging a young Belgian 
graduate to compete in a civil service exam in France?

I.  Travelling, living and working in 

Europe

If you are an EU citizen you have the right to travel, 
work and live anywhere in the European Union.

If you have completed a university course lasting 
3 years or more, your qualification will be recognised in 
all EU countries, since EU Member States have 
confidence in the quality of one another’s education and 
training systems.

Before travelling within the EU you can obtain from 
your national authorities a European health insurance 
card, to help cover your medical costs if you fall ill while 
in another country.

II.  How you can exercise your rights as 

a European citizen

As a citizen of the European Union you are not just a 
worker or a consumer: you also have specific political 
rights. Since the Maastricht Treaty came into force, 
regardless of your nationality, you have had the right to 

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Europeans are free to live 
and work in any EU country 
that they choose.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
 
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One of the basic rights laid 
down in the Charter of 
Fundamental Rights of the 
European Union is that of 
balancing family life with a 
career.

vote and to stand as a candidate in local elections in 
your country of residence and in elections to the 
European Parliament.

of human beings, the right to environmental protection, 
the rights of children and elderly people and the right to 
good administration.

As of December 2009 (when the Treaty of Lisbon came 
into force), you also have the right to petition the 
Commission to put forward a legislative proposal — 
provided you can find a million people from a 
significant number of EU countries to sign your petition.

III. Fundamental rights

The European Union’s commitment to citizens’ rights 
was made clear at Nice in December 2000 when the 
European Council solemnly proclaimed the Charter of 
Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This 
Charter had been drawn up by a Convention composed 
of members of national parliaments, MEPs, 
representatives of national governments and a member 
of the European Commission. Under six headings — 
Dignity, Freedoms, Equality, Solidarity, Citizens’ rights 
and Justice —– its 54 articles set out the European 
Union’s fundamental values and the civil, political, 
economic and social rights of EU citizens.

The opening articles cover human dignity, the right to 
life, the right to the ‘integrity of the person’ and the 
right to freedom of expression and of conscience. The 
chapter on solidarity brings together, in an innovative 
way, social and economic rights such as:
•  the right to strike;
•  the right of workers to be informed and consulted;
•  the right to reconcile family life and professional life;
•  the right to health care, social security and social 

assistance throughout the European Union.

The Charter also promotes equality between men and 
women and introduces rights such as data protection, a 
ban on eugenic practices and the reproductive cloning 

The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force on 1 
December 2009, gives the Charter the same legal force 
as the Treaties — so it can be used as the basis for 
taking a case to the EU Court of Justice. (However, a 
protocol specifies the application of the Charter in 
Poland and the United Kingdom, and this will later also 
apply to the Czech Republic).

Moreover, Article 6 of the Treaty of Lisbon provides a 
legal basis for the EU to sign up to the European 
Convention on Human Rights. This Convention would 
then no longer be merely referred to in the EU Treaties 
but would have legal force in EU countries, thus giving 
greater protection to human rights in the European 
Union.

IV. Europe means education and culture

A sense of belonging together and having a common 
destiny cannot be manufactured. It can only arise from 
a shared cultural awareness, which is why Europe needs 
to focus not just on economics but also on education, 
citizenship and culture.

The EU does not say how schools and education are to 
be organised or what the curriculum is: these things are 
decided at national or local level. But the EU does run 
programmes under the name ‘Erasmus +’ to promote 
educational exchanges so that young people can go 
abroad to train or study, learn new languages and take 
part in joint activities with schools or colleges in other 
countries. More than 4 million people are expected to 
receive support in the period 2014–20.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
30

European countries are working together — via the 
‘Bologna process’ — to create a European higher 
education area. This means, for example, that university 
courses in all the countries concerned will lead to 
comparable and mutually recognised degrees 
(Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate).

background) were explicitly mentioned in the 2004 
draft Constitution for the European Union, but were 
dropped from the Lisbon Treaty which replaced it. These 
are still EU symbols and Member States, local 
authorities and individual citizens may use them if they 
wish.

In the field of culture, the EU’s ‘Creative Europe’ 
programme fosters cooperation between TV programme 
and film-makers, promoters, broadcasters and cultural 
bodies from different countries. This encourages the 
production of more European TV programmes and films, 
thereby helping redress the balance between European 
and American output.

One of Europe’s essential characteristics is its diversity 
of languages — and preserving that diversity is an 
important EU objective. Indeed, multilingualism is 
fundamental to the way the European Union works. EU 
legislation has to be available in all 24 official 
languages, and every MEP has the right to use his or 
her own language in parliamentary debates.

V.  The Ombudsman and your right to 

petition Parliament

To help bring the EU closer to its citizens, the Treaty on 
European Union created the post of Ombudsman. The 
European Parliament appoints the Ombudsman, who 
remains in office for the duration of the Parliament. The 
Ombudsman’s role is to investigate complaints against 
EU institutions and bodies. Complaints may be brought 
by any EU citizen and by any person or organisation 
living or based in an EU country. The Ombudsman tries 
to arrange an amicable settlement between the 
complainant and the institution or body concerned.

Anyone living in an EU country can also petition the 
European Parliament. This is another important link 
between the EU institutions and the public.

VI. A sense of belonging

The idea of a ‘citizens’ Europe’ is very new. Some 
symbols of a shared European identity already exist, 
such as the European passport, in use since 1985. EU 
driving licences have been issued in all EU countries 
since 1996. The EU has a motto, ‘United in diversity’, 
and 9 May is celebrated as ‘Europe Day’.

The European anthem (Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’) and 
the European flag (a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue 

However, people cannot feel they ‘belong to’ the 
European Union unless they are aware of what the EU 
is doing and understand why. The EU institutions and 
Member States need to do much more to explain EU 
affairs in clear and simple language.

People also need to see the EU making a tangible 
difference to their daily lives. In this respect, the use of 
euro notes and coins since 2002 has had a major 
impact. More than two thirds of EU citizens now 
manage their personal budget and savings in euro. 
Pricing goods and services in euro means that 
consumers can compare prices directly from one 
country to another.

Border checks have been abolished between most EU 
countries under the Schengen Agreement, and this 
already gives people a sense of belonging to a single, 
unified geographical area.

A sense of belonging comes, above all, with feeling 
personally involved in EU decision-making. Every adult 
EU citizen has the right to vote in European Parliament 
elections, and this is an important basis for the EU’s 
democratic legitimacy. That legitimacy is being 
increased as more powers are given to the European 
Parliament, national parliaments have a greater say in 
EU business and Europe’s citizens become more actively 
involved in NGOs, in political movements and in setting 
up Europe-wide political parties. If you want to help 
shape the European agenda and influence EU policies, 
there are many ways to do so. There are, for example, 
online discussion forums dedicated to European Union 
affairs where you can join in the debate, and you can 
post your views on Commissioners’ or MEPs’ blogs. You 
can also contact the Commission or Parliament directly, 
online or via one of their offices in your country (see 
the inside back cover for details).

The European Union was set up to serve the peoples of 
Europe, and its future must be shaped by the active 
involvement of people from all walks of life. The EU’s 
founding fathers were well aware of this. ‘We are not 
bringing together states, we are uniting people’, said 
Jean Monnet back in 1952. Raising public awareness 
about the EU and involving citizens in its activities is 
still one of the greatest challenges facing the EU 
institutions today.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED31

10. A Europe of freedom, security

and justice

 X The opening of internal borders between EU Member States is a very tangible benefit for ordinary people, 

allowing them to travel freely without being subject to border controls.

 X However, this freedom of internal movement must go hand in hand with increased controls at the EU’s 
external borders so as to effectively combat organised crime, terrorism, illegal immigration and the 
trafficking of people and drugs.

 X The EU countries cooperate in the area of policing and justice so as to make Europe safer and more secure.

European citizens are entitled to live in freedom, 
without fear of persecution or violence, anywhere in the 
European Union. Yet international crime and terrorism 
are among the main concerns of Europeans today.

Clearly, freedom of movement must mean giving 
everyone, everywhere in the EU, the same protection 
and the same access to justice. So, through successive 
amendments to the Treaties, the European Union is 
gradually being made into a single ‘area of freedom, 
security and justice’.

The scope for EU action in these fields has been 
widened, over the years, as the European Council 
adopted three successive framework programmes: the 
Tampere programme (1999–2004), the Hague 
programme (2005–09) and the Stockholm programme 
(2010–14). While the Tampere and Hague programmes 
aimed at greater security, Stockholm focuses more on 
protecting citizens’ rights.

Decision-making in these fields has become more 
effective thanks to the Lisbon Treaty, which came into 
force in December 2009. Until then, the Member States 
had reserved for themselves all responsibility for 

creating and managing the area of freedom, security 
and justice. The work was carried out essentially by the 
Council (i.e. through discussion and agreement between 
government ministers), leaving the Commission and 
Parliament to play only a small role. The Lisbon Treaty 
has changed that: the Council now takes most of its 
decisions by a qualified majority vote and Parliament is 
an equal partner in the decision-making process.

I.  Moving freely within the EU and 
protecting its external borders

The free movement of people within the EU raises 
security issues for the Member States, since they no 
longer control internal EU borders. To compensate for 
this, extra security measures have to be put in place at 
the EU’s external borders. Moreover, since criminals can 
also exploit freedom of movement within the EU, 
national police forces and judicial authorities have to 
work together to combat cross-border crime.

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As the EU’s population ages, 
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Cooperation between 
European customs 
authorities is helping to 
reduce trafficking and crime.

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One of the most important moves to make life easier 
for travellers in the European Union took place in 1985, 
when the governments of Belgium, the Federal Republic 
of Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands 
signed an agreement in a small Luxembourg border 
town called Schengen. They agreed to abolish all checks 
on people, regardless of nationality, at their shared 
borders, to harmonise controls at their borders with 
non-EU countries and to introduce a common policy on 
visas. They thus formed an area without internal 
frontiers known as the Schengen area.

The Schengen arrangements have since become an 
integral part of the EU Treaties, and the Schengen area 
has gradually expanded. In 2013, the Schengen rules 
were fully implemented by all EU countries except 
Bulgaria, Ireland, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and the 
United Kingdom. Four non-EU countries — Iceland, 
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — are also in 
the Schengen area.

Tightening up checks at the EU’s external borders 
became a priority when the EU expanded in 2004 and 
2007. An EU agency known as Frontex, based in 
Warsaw, is responsible for managing EU cooperation on 
external border security. The Member States can lend it 
boats, helicopters and planes for carrying out joint 
patrols — for example in sensitive areas of the 
Mediterranean. The EU is also considering setting up a 
European border guard service.

II.  Asylum and immigration policy

Europe is proud of its humanitarian tradition of 
welcoming foreigners and offering asylum to refugees 
fleeing danger and persecution. Today, however, EU 
governments face the pressing question of how to deal 
with rising numbers of immigrants, both legal and 
illegal, in an area without internal frontiers.

EU governments have agreed to harmonise their rules 
so that applications for asylum can be processed in 
accordance with a set of basic principles uniformly 
recognised throughout the European Union. Common 
minimum standards for admitting asylum-seekers and 
for granting refugee status have been adopted. A 
European Asylum Support Office has been created, with 
its seat in Malta, to help cooperation among EU 
countries in this field.

In recent years, large numbers of illegal immigrants 
have been arriving on Europe’s shores, and one of the 
EU’s top priorities is to deal with this problem. Member 
governments are working together to tackle people 
smuggling and to agree common arrangements for 
repatriating illegal immigrants. At the same time, legal 
immigration is being better coordinated under EU rules 
on family reunification, on the status of long-term 
residents and on admitting non-EU nationals who wish 
to come to Europe to study or to undertake research.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
33

III. Fighting international crime

IV. Towards a ‘European judicial area’

A coordinated effort is needed to combat criminal 
gangs who run people-trafficking networks and who 
exploit vulnerable human beings, particularly women 
and children.

Organised crime is becoming ever more sophisticated 
and regularly uses European or international networks 
for its activities. Terrorism has clearly shown that it can 
strike, with great brutality, anywhere in the world.

This is why the Schengen information system (SIS) was 
set up. This is a complex database which enables police 
forces and judicial authorities to exchange information 
on people for whom an arrest warrant or extradition 
request has been issued, and on stolen property such as 
vehicles or works of art. A new generation database 
known as SIS II has greater capacity and makes it 
possible to store new types of data.

One of the best ways of catching criminals is to track 
their ill-gotten gains. For this reason, and to cut off the 
funding of criminal and terrorist organisations, the EU 
has brought in legislation to prevent money-laundering.

The greatest advance made in recent years in the field 
of cooperation between law enforcement authorities 
was the creation of Europol, an EU body based in The 
Hague and staffed by police and customs officers. It 
tackles a wide range of international crime: drug 
trafficking, trade in stolen vehicles, people trafficking 
and illegal immigration networks, the sexual 
exploitation of women and children, child pornography, 
forgery, the trafficking of radioactive and nuclear 
material, terrorism, money-laundering and 
counterfeiting the euro.

At present, many different judicial systems operate side 
by side in the European Union, each within national 
borders. But international crime and terrorism have no 
respect for national boundaries. This is why the EU 
needs a common framework for fighting terrorism, drug 
trafficking and counterfeiting, so as to guarantee its 
citizens a high level of protection and to improve 
international cooperation in this area. The EU also needs 
a common criminal justice policy, to ensure that 
cooperation between the courts in different countries is 
not hampered by their differing definitions of certain 
criminal acts.

The main example of practical cooperation in this field 
is Eurojust, a central coordinating structure established 
in The Hague in 2003. Its purpose is to enable the 
national investigating and prosecuting authorities to 
work together on criminal investigations involving 
several EU countries. On the basis of Eurojust, a 
European Public Prosecutor’s Office may be set up — if 
the Council (or a group of at least nine Member States) 
so decides. The role of the prosecutor would be to 
investigate and prosecute offences against the EU’s 
financial interests.

Another tool for practical cross-border cooperation is 
the European arrest warrant, operational since January 
2004. It replaces lengthy extradition procedures.

In the area of civil law, the EU has adopted legislation 
to help apply court rulings in cross-border cases 
involving divorce, separation, child custody and 
maintenance claims. The aim is to ensure that 
judgments in one country are applicable in another. The 
EU has established common procedures to simplify and 
speed up the settlement of cross-border cases in small 
and uncontested civil claims like debt recovery and 
bankruptcy.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE34

11. The EU on the world stage

 X The European Union has more influence on the world stage when it speaks with a single voice in 

international affairs such as trade negotiations. To help achieve this, and to raise the EU’s international 
profile, in 2009 the European Council acquired a permanent President and the first High Representative of 
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy was appointed.

 X In the area of defence, each country remains sovereign, whether a member of NATO or neutral. However, the 

EU Member States are developing military cooperation for peacekeeping missions.

 X The EU is a major player in international trade, and is working within the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to 

ensure open markets and a rules-based trading system.

 X For historical and geographical reasons, the EU pays particularly close attention to Africa (via development 

aid policies, trade preferences, food aid and promoting respect for human rights). 

In economic, trade and monetary terms, the European 
Union has become a major world power. It is sometimes 
said that the EU has become an economic giant but 
remained a political dwarf. This is an exaggeration. The 
European Union has considerable influence within 
international organisations such as the World Trade 
Organisation (WTO) and the specialised bodies of the 
United Nations (UN), and at world summits on the 
environment and development.

Nevertheless, it is true that the EU and its members 
have a long way to go, in diplomatic and political terms, 
before they can speak with one voice on major world 
issues. What is more, military defence (the cornerstone 
of national sovereignty) remains in the hands of 
national governments, whose ties are those forged 
within alliances such as NATO.

I.  The common foreign and security 

policy

(A) SETTING UP A EUROPEAN DIPLOMATIC SERVICE
The common foreign and security policy (CFSP) and the 
European security and defence policy (ESDP), define the 
EU’s main foreign policy tasks. These policies were 
introduced by the Treaties of Maastricht (1992), 
Amsterdam (1997) and Nice (2001). They formed the 
EU’s ‘second pillar’ — a policy area in which action is 
decided by intergovernmental agreement and in which 
the Commission and the Parliament play only a minor 
role. Decisions in this area are taken by consensus, 
although individual states can abstain. Although the 
Treaty of Lisbon did away with ‘pillars’ in the EU’s 
structure, it did not change the way in which security 
and defence matters are decided. However, it changed 
the policy’s name from ESDP to CSDP — the common 
security and defence policy. It also raised the profile of 
the CFSP by creating the post of High Representative of 
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

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The EU runs civil or military 
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such as this anti-piracy force 
off the coast of Somalia.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED 
 
35

Her job is to represent the EU’s collective viewpoint and 
to act in the EU’s name within international 
organisations and at international conferences. She is 
assisted by the thousands of EU and national officials 
who make up the European External Action Service — in 
effect, the EU’s diplomatic service.

The aim of EU foreign policy is, essentially, to ensure 
security, stability, democracy and respect for human 
rights — not only in its immediate neighbourhood (e.g. 
the Balkans) but also in other hotspots around the 
world, such as in Africa, the Middle East and the 
Caucasus. Its main tool is ‘soft power’, which covers 
things like election observation missions, humanitarian 
aid and development assistance. In 2012, the EU 
donated humanitarian aid worth over €1.3 billion. The 
EU provides 60 % of the world’s development 
assistance and helps the world’s most needy countries 
to fight poverty, feed their people, avoid natural 
disasters, access drinking water and fight disease. At 
the same time, the EU actively encourages these 
countries to respect the rule of law and to open up their 
markets to international trade. The Commission and the 
European Parliament are careful to ensure that the aid 
is provided in an accountable manner and is properly 
managed and used.

Is the EU able and willing to go further than this ‘soft 
power’ diplomacy? That is the main challenge for the 
years ahead. All too often, the European Council’s joint 
statements and common positions on major 
international issues (the Middle East peace process, 
Iraq, terrorism, relations with Russia, Iran, Cuba, etc.) 
express nothing but the lowest common denominator. 
Meanwhile, the large Member States continue to play 
their own individual diplomatic roles. Yet it is when the 
European Union speaks with one voice that it is seen as 
a global player. If its credibility and influence are to 
grow, the EU must combine its economic might and 
trading power with the steady implementation of its 
common security and defence policy.

(B) TANGIBLE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMMON 
SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY (CSDP)

Since 2003, the European Union has had the capacity to 
carry out crisis management operations, as the Member 
States voluntarily make some of their own forces 
available to the EU for performing such operations.

Responsibility for running the operations lies with a set 
of politico-military bodies: the Political and Security 
Committee (PSC), the EU Military Committee (EUMC), 
the Committee for Civilian Aspects of Crisis 
Management (Civcom) and the European Union Military 
Staff (EUMS). These bodies are answerable to the 
Council and are based in Brussels.

This set of tools is what gives substance to the common 
security and defence policy. It enables the EU to carry 
out the tasks it has set itself — humanitarian and 
peacemaking or peacekeeping missions. These missions 
must avoid duplicating what NATO is doing, and this is 
guaranteed by the ‘Berlin plus’ arrangements agreed 
between NATO and the EU. They give the European 
Union access to NATO’s logistical resources (for 
detection, communication, command and transport).

Since 2003, the European Union has launched 30 
military operations and civilian missions. The first of 
these was in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where EU troops 
replaced NATO forces. These missions and operations, 
under the European flag, are being or have been 
deployed on three continents. They include the EUFOR 
mission in Chad and the Central African Republic, 
Eunavfor’s ‘Atalanta’ operation to combat Somali piracy 
in the Gulf of Aden, the EULEX mission to help Kosovo 
firmly establish the rule of law, and the EUPOL mission 
in Afghanistan to help train the Afghan police.

As military technology becomes ever more sophisticated 
and expensive, EU governments are finding it 
increasingly necessary to work together on arms 
manufacture — especially now that they are striving to 
reduce public spending to help them weather the 
financial crisis. Moreover, if their armed forces are to 
carry out joint missions outside Europe, their systems 
must be interoperable and their equipment sufficiently 
standardised. This is why the Thessaloniki European 
Council in June 2003 decided to set up a European 
Defence Agency (EDA) to help develop the EU’s military 
capabilities. It was formally established in 2004.

II.  A trade policy that is open to the 

world

Its importance as a trading power gives the European 
Union considerable international influence. The EU 
supports the rules-based system of the World Trade 
Organisation (WTO), which has 159 member countries. 
This system provides a degree of legal certainty and 
transparency in the conduct of international trade. The 
WTO sets conditions under which its members can 
defend themselves against unfair practices like 
dumping (selling below cost) through which exporters 
compete against their rivals. It also provides a 
procedure for settling disputes that arise between two 
or more trading partners.

Since 2001, through the ‘Doha round’ of trade talks, the 
EU has been seeking to open up world trade. These are 
difficult negotiations but the EU remains convinced that, 

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE36

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The EU promotes the opening 
of markets and the 
development of trade within 
the multilateral framework 
of the World Trade 
Organisation.

in the wake of the financial and economic crisis, a 
contraction in world trade would turn the recession into 
a full-blown depression.

The EU’s trade policy is closely linked to its development 
policy. Under its ‘general system of preferences’ (GSP), 
the EU has granted duty-free or cut-rate preferential 
access to its market for most of the imports from 
developing countries and economies in transition. It 
goes even further for the world’s 49 poorest countries. 
All of their exports, with the sole exception of arms, 
enjoy duty-free entry to the EU market.

The EU does not, however, have specific trade 
agreements with its major trading partners among the 
developed countries like the United States and Japan. 
Here, trade relations have been handled through the 
WTO mechanisms, but bilateral agreements are being 
negotiated. The European Union is increasing its trade 
with the emerging powers in other parts of the world, 
from China and India to Central and South America. 
Trade agreements with these countries also involve 
technical and cultural cooperation. China has become 
the EU’s second most important trading partner (after 
the United States) and its biggest supplier of imports. 
(In 2012, more than 17 % of the EU’s imports of goods 
came from China). The European Union is Russia’s main 
trading partner and its biggest source of foreign 
investment. Apart from trade, the main issues in EU–
Russia relations concern cross-border matters such as 
the security of energy supplies, in particular gas.

III. Africa

Relations between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa go 
back a long way. Under the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the 
then colonies and overseas territories of member states 
became associates of the Community. Decolonisation, 
which began in the early 1960s, turned this link into a 
different kind of association, one between sovereign 
countries.

The Cotonou Agreement, signed in 2000 in Cotonou, the 
capital of Benin, marked a new stage in the EU’s 
development policy. This agreement between the 
European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific 
(ACP) countries is the most ambitious and far-reaching 
trade and aid agreement ever concluded between 
developed and developing countries. It followed on from 
the Lomé Convention, which was signed in 1975 in 
Lomé, the capital of Togo, and subsequently updated at 
regular intervals.

This agreement goes significantly further than earlier 
ones, since it has moved from trade relations based on 
market access to trade relations in a wider sense. It 
also introduces new procedures for dealing with human 
rights abuses.

The European Union has granted special trading 
concessions to the least developed countries, 39 of 
which are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement. Since 
2005, they have been able to export practically any 
type of product to the EU, duty free. 

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
 
37

12. What future for Europe?

 X ‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete 

achievements which first create a de facto solidarity’

 X This statement from 1950 is still true. But what are the great challenges for Europe in the coming years?

‘Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a 
single plan. It will be built through concrete 
achievements which first create a de facto solidarity’. 
So said Robert Schuman in his famous Declaration, 
launching the European integration project on 9 May 
1950. Sixty years on, his words are as true as ever. The 
solidarity between Europe’s peoples and nations must 
constantly be adapted to deal with new challenges 
posed by a changing world. Completion of the single 
market in the early 1990s was a great achievement, 
but it was not enough. To make the market work 
effectively, the euro had to be invented — making its 
appearance in 1999. To manage the euro and ensure 
price stability, the European Central Bank was set up: 
but the financial crisis of 2008–09 and the debt crisis 
of 2010 showed that the euro is vulnerable to attack by 
global speculators. What is needed, in addition to the 
ECB, is coordination of national economic policies — a 
much closer coordination than currently provided by the 
Eurogroup. So, will the EU soon be laying plans for 
genuinely shared economic governance?

Jean Monnet, the great architect of European 
integration, concluded his 1976 memoirs with these 
words: ‘The sovereign nations of the past can no longer 
solve the problems of the present: they cannot ensure 
their own progress or control their own future. And the 
Community itself is only a stage on the way to the 
organised world of tomorrow.’ Given today’s global 
economy, should we already regard the European Union 
as no longer politically relevant? Or should we rather be 
asking how to unleash the full potential of over half a 
billion Europeans who share the same values and 
interests?

The European Union may soon have more than 30 
Member States, with very different histories, languages 
and cultures. Can such a diverse family of nations form 
a common political ‘public sphere’? Can its citizens 
develop a shared sense of ‘being European’ while 
remaining deeply attached to their country, their region 
and their local community? Perhaps they can, if today’s 
Member States follow the example of the very first 
European Community — the ECSC — which was born 
from the rubble of the Second World War. Its moral 
legitimacy was based on reconciliation and 
consolidating the peace between former enemies. It 
adhered to the principle that all Member States, 
whether large or small, had equal rights and respected 
minorities.

Will it be possible to keep pushing ahead with European 
integration, claiming that the EU’s Member States and 
their peoples all want the same thing? Or will EU 
leaders make greater use of ‘reinforced cooperation’ 
arrangements, whereby ad hoc groups of Member 
States can move ahead without the others in this or 
that direction? The multiplication of such arrangements 
could lead to an à la carte or ‘variable geometry’ 
Europe, with each Member State free to choose whether 
to pursue a particular policy or to be part of a particular 
institution. This solution might appear attractively 
simple, but it would be the beginning of the end for the 
EU, which works by anticipating the common interests 
of its Member States, in both the short and the long 
term. It is based on the concept of solidarity — which 
means sharing the costs as well as the advantages. It 
means having common rules and common policies. 
Exemptions, derogations and opt-outs should be 
exceptional and of short duration. Transitional 
arrangements and phasing-in periods may sometimes 
be necessary, but unless all the Member States keep to 
the same rules and work towards the same goals, 
solidarity breaks down and the advantages of being in a 
strong and united Europe are lost.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE38

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Europeans need to work 
together today for their 
future tomorrow.

At the same time, the EU needs to be closer to its 
citizens. The European Parliament — which has been 
given greater power with each new treaty — is directly 
elected by universal suffrage every 5 years. But the 
percentage of the population actually voting in these 
elections varies from country to country, and the 
turnout is often low. The challenge for the EU’s 
institutions and national governments is to find better 
ways of informing and communicating with the public 
(through education, NGO networks, etc.) and thus foster 
the emergence of a common European public sphere in 
which EU citizens can shape the political agenda.

Finally, Europe should punch its full weight in 
international affairs. One of the EU’s great strengths is 
its ability to spread European values beyond its borders. 
Values such as respecting human rights, upholding the 
rule of law, protecting the environment and maintaining 
social standards in the social market economy. 
Imperfect as it is, the EU can hardly claim to be a 
shining model for the rest of humanity. But to the 
extent that Europe is successful, other regions will look 
to it as an example. What would count as success for 
the EU in the years ahead? Bringing its public finances 
back into balance. Coping with the ageing of its 
population in a way that does not unfairly penalise the 
next generation. Finding ethical responses to the huge 
challenges posed by scientific and technological 
progress — particularly in biotechnology. Ensuring 
security for its citizens without undermining their 
freedom. If it can do these things, Europe will continue 
to be respected and will remain a source of inspiration 
to the rest of the world.

At the same time, the economic crisis has shown that 
the countries that use the euro as their currency are in 
a special situation of dependency which has led them to 
function as a core group of countries within the EU.

Globalisation obliges Europe to compete not only with 
its traditional rivals (Japan and the US) but also with 
fast-rising economic powers such as Brazil, China and 
India. Can it continue restricting access to its single 
market in order to protect its social and environmental 
standards? Even if it did so, there would be no escape 
from the harsh realities of international competition. 
The only solution is for Europe to become a real global 
player, acting in unison on the world stage and 
asserting its interests effectively by speaking with one 
voice. Progress in this direction can only be achieved by 
moving towards political union. The President of the 
European Council, the Commission President and the 
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and 
Security Policy must together give the EU strong and 
consistent leadership.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE 
 
 
Key dates in the history of European 
integration

39

1950

1951

1955

1957

1960

1963

1965

1966

1968

1969

9 May
Robert Schuman, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, makes an important speech putting 
forward proposals based on the ideas of Jean Monnet. He proposes that France and the 
Federal Republic of Germany pool their coal and steel resources in a new organisation which 
other European countries can join.

18 April
In Paris, six countries — Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg 
and the Netherlands — sign the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community 
(ECSC). It comes into force on 23 July 1952, for a period of 50 years.

1–2 June
At a meeting in Messina, the foreign ministers of the six countries decide to extend European 
integration to the economy as a whole.

25 March
In Rome, the six countries sign the Treaties establishing the European Economic Community 
(EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). They come into force on 
1 January 1958.

4 January
At the instigation of the United Kingdom, the Stockholm Convention establishes the European 
Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising a number of European countries that are not part of 
the EEC.

20 July
In Yaoundé, an association agreement is signed between the EEC and 18 African countries.

8 April
A treaty is signed merging the executive bodies of the three Communities (the ECSC, EEC and 
Euratom) and creating a single Council and a single Commission. It comes into force on 
1 July 1967.

29 January
The ‘Luxembourg compromise’: following a political crisis, France agrees to take part in Council 
meetings once again, in return for an agreement that the unanimity rule be maintained when 
‘vital national interests’ are at stake.

1 July
Customs duties between the Member States on industrial goods are completely abolished, 
18 months ahead of schedule, and a common external tariff is introduced.

1–2 December
At the Hague Summit, the EEC’s political leaders decide to move further ahead with European 
integration.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE40

1970

1973

1974

1975

1979

1981

1984

1985

22 April
In Luxembourg, a treaty is signed allowing the European Communities to be increasingly 
financed from ‘own resources’ and giving greater supervisory powers to the European 
Parliament.

1 January
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Communities, bringing their 
membership to nine. Norway stays out, following a referendum.

9–10 December
At the Paris Summit, the political leaders of the nine Member States decide to meet three 
times a year as the European Council. They also give the go-ahead for direct elections to the 
European Parliament, and agree to set up the European Regional Development Fund.

28 February
In Lomé, a convention (Lomé I) is signed between the EEC and 46 African, Caribbean and 
Pacific (ACP) countries.

22 July
A treaty is signed giving the European Parliament greater power over the budget and 
establishing the European Court of Auditors. It comes into force on 1 June 1977.

7–10 June
The first direct elections to the 410-seat European Parliament.

1 January
Greece joins the European Communities, bringing the number of members to 10.

14 and 17 June
The second direct elections to the European Parliament.

7 January
Jacques Delors becomes President of the Commission (1985–95).

14 June
The Schengen Agreement is signed with the aim of abolishing checks at the borders between 
member countries of the European Communities.

1986

1 January
Spain and Portugal join the European Communities, bringing their membership to 12.

17 and 28 February
The Single European Act is signed in Luxembourg and The Hague. It comes into force on 1 July 
1987.

1989

15 and 18 June
The third direct elections to the European Parliament.

9 November
The fall of the Berlin Wall.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1997

1998

1999

41

3 October
German unification.

9–10 December
The Maastricht European Council adopts a Treaty on European Union. This lays the foundation 
for a common foreign and security policy, closer cooperation on justice and home affairs and 
the creation of economic and monetary union, including a single currency.

7 February
The Treaty on European Union is signed at Maastricht. It comes into force on 
1 November 1993.

1 January
The single market is created.

9 and 12 June
The fourth direct elections to the European Parliament.

1 January
Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU, bringing its membership to 15. Norway stays out, 
again following a referendum.

23 January
A new European Commission takes office with Jacques Santer as its President (1995–99).

27–28 November
The Euro-Mediterranean Conference in Barcelona launches a partnership between the EU and 
the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean.

2 October
The Amsterdam Treaty is signed. It comes into force on 1 May 1999.

30 March
The accession process begins for the new candidate countries — Cyprus, Malta and 10 central 
and eastern European countries.

1 January
Eleven EU countries adopt the euro, which is launched on the financial markets, replacing their 
currencies for non-cash transactions. The European Central Bank takes on responsibility for 
monetary policy. On 1 January 2001, Greece becomes the 12th country to adopt the euro.

10 and 13 June
The fifth direct elections to the European Parliament.

15 September
A new European Commission takes office with Romano Prodi as its President (1999–2004).

15–16 October
The Tampere European Council decides to make the EU an area of freedom, security and 
justice.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINE42

2000

23–24 March

The Lisbon European Council draws up a new strategy for boosting employment in the EU, 
modernising the economy and strengthening social cohesion in a knowledge-based Europe.

7–8 December

In Nice, the European Council reaches agreement on the text of a new treaty changing the 
EU’s decision-making system so that the Union will be ready for enlargement. The Presidents 
of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission solemnly 
proclaim the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

2001

26 February
The Treaty of Nice is signed. It comes into force on 1 February 2003.

2002

2003

2004

2005

2007

14–15 December
Laeken European Council: a declaration on the future of the EU is agreed. This opens the way 
for the forthcoming major reform of the EU and for the creation of a Convention (chaired by 
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing) to draft a European Constitution.

1 January
Euro notes and coins are introduced in the 12 euro area countries.

10 July
The Convention on the Future of Europe completes its work on the draft European 
Constitution.

1 May
The Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and 
Slovakia join the European Union.

10 and 13 June
The sixth direct elections to the European Parliament.

29 October
The European Constitution is signed in Rome by the 25 Heads of State or Government.

22 November
A new European Commission takes office with José Manuel Barroso as its President.

29 May and 1 June
Voters in France reject the Constitution in a referendum, followed 3 days later by voters in the 
Netherlands.

3 October
Accession negotiations begin with Turkey and Croatia.

1 January
Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union.
Slovenia becomes the 13th country to adopt the euro.

13 December
The Treaty of Lisbon is signed

THE EUROPEAN UNION EXPLAINED43

2008

2009

1 January
Cyprus and Malta become the 14th and the 15th countries to adopt the euro.

1 January
Slovakia becomes the 16th country to adopt the euro.

4–7 June
The seventh direct elections to the European Parliament.

2 October
A referendum in Ireland approves the Treaty of Lisbon.

1 December
The Treaty of Lisbon comes into force.
Herman Van Rompuy becomes President of the European Council.
Catherine Ashton becomes High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs  
and Security Policy.

2010

9 February
The European Parliament gives its consent to the new European Commission, with José 
Manuel Barroso as its President for the second time.

2011

2012

2013

2014

9 May
A forerunner to the European Stability Mechanism is created, worth €750 billion. This is one of 
many steps designed to help Europe through the economic and financial crisis.

1 January
Estonia becomes the 17th country to adopt the euro.

2 March 
The Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union is 
signed by 25 EU countries. It comes into force on 1 January 2013.

1 July 
Croatia joins the European Union.

1 January 
Latvia becomes the 18th country to adopt the euro.

22-25 May 
The eighth direct elections to the European Parliament.

2015

1 January 
Lithuania becomes the 19th country to adopt the euro.

EUROPE IN 12 LESSONS BY PASCAL FONTAINEGetting in touch with the EU

ONLINE
Information in all the official languages of the European Union is available on the Europa website:
www.europa.eu

IN PERSON
All over Europe there are hundreds of local EU information centres. You can find the address of the centre 
nearest to you at: www.europedirect.europa.eu

ON THE PHONE OR BY MAIL
Europe Direct is a service which answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this 
service by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 
00800 numbers or may charge for these calls), or by payphone from outside the EU: +32 22999696, or by 
e-mail via www.europedirect.europa.eu

READ ABOUT EUROPE
Publications about the EU are only a click away on the EU Bookshop website: www.bookshop.europa.eu

You can also obtain information and booklets in English about the European Union from:

European Commission Office in 
Scotland
9 Alva Street
Edinburgh EH2 4PH
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 1312252058
Internet: http://www.ec.europa.eu/uk

European Commission Office in Wales
2 Caspian Point, Caspian Way
Cardiff CF10 4QQ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2920895020
Internet: http://www.ec.europa.eu/uk

Delegation in the United States
2175 K Street, NW
Washington DC 20037
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Tel. +1 2028629500
Internet: http://www.eurunion.org

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
REPRESENTATIONS

European Commission  
Representation in Ireland
European Union House
18 Dawson Street
Dublin 2
IRELAND
Tel. +353 16341111
Internet: http://www.ec.europa.eu/ireland
E-mail: eu-ie-info-request@ec.europa.eu

European Commission Representation 
in the United Kingdom
Europe House
32 Smith Square
London SW1P 3EU
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2079731992
Internet: http://www.ec.europa.eu/uk

European Commission Office in 
Northern Ireland
74-76 Dublin Road
Belfast BT2 7HP
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2890240708
Internet: http://www.ec.europa.eu/uk

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
INFORMATION OFFICES

Information Office in Ireland
43 Molesworth Street
Dublin 2
IRELAND
Tel. +353 16057900 
Internet: http://www.europarl.ie
E-mail: epdublin@europarl.europa.eu

Information Office  
in the United Kingdom
Europe House
32 Smith Square
London SW1P 3EU
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 2072274300
Internet: http://www.europarl.org.uk
E-mail: eplondon@europarl.europa.eu

Information Office in Scotland
The Tun, 4 Jackson’s Entry
Holyrood Road
Edinburgh EH8 8PJ
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel. +44 1315577866
Internet: http://www.europarl.org.uk
E-mail: epedinburgh@europarl.europa.eu

There are European Commission and Parliament representations and offices in all the countries of the European Union. 
The European Union also has delegations in other parts of the world.

The European Union

Αθήνα
Athína

Member States of the European Union (2013)

Candidate countries and potential candidates

N
A
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0
2
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1
3
-
7
1
4
-
E
N
-
C

Europe in 12 lessons

What purpose does the EU serve? Why and how was it set up? How does it work? 
What has it already achieved for its citizens, and what new challenges does it face 
today?

In an age of globalisation, can the EU compete successfully with other major 
economies while maintaining its social standards? What will Europe’s role be on the 
world stage in the years ahead? Where will the EU’s boundaries be drawn? And what 
future is there for the euro?

These are just some of the questions explored by EU expert Pascal Fontaine in this 
edition of his popular booklet Europe in 12 lessons. Pascal Fontaine is former 
assistant to Jean Monnet and Professor at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris.

ISBN 978-92-79-34280-6 
doi:10.2775/36518