Institutionen der Integration Ratspräsidentschaft und ... - E-LIB

Valentin Schröder Institutionen der Integration Anhang A-6
1.1.6. Accession Treaties
The European Union has been enlarged six times: the six founder members (Belgium, Germany,
France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) were joined in 1973 by Denmark, Ireland and
the United Kingdom, in 1981 by Greece, in 1986 by Spain and Portugal, in 1995 by Austria, Finland
and Sweden, in 2004 by the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and in 2007 by Bulgaria and Romania.
The Accession Treaties contain the terms laid down for the new countries’ accession to the European
Union and the necessary adjustments to the treaties on which the Union is founded.
1.1.7. Other treaties and protocols
1.1.7.1. Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community
The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC Treaty) is the oldest of
the European Community’s three founding treaties.
It was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951, came into force on 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July
2002, as it had been concluded for a period of 50 years.
The purpose of the treaty was to set up a common market in coal and steel, and this formula was
meant to be gradually extended to other areas of the economy. The coal and steel sectors now
come under the ordinary regime of the EC Treaty.
1.1.7.2. Single European Act
The Single European Act was signed on 28 February 1986 and came into force on 1 July 1987.
Its purpose was the completion, by 31 December 1992 at the latest, of the Single European Market,
i.e. an area within which there were to be no restrictions on the movement of persons, capital,
goods and services. Ad hoc procedures were introduced into the EC Treaty to achieve this.
1.1.7.3. Treaty of Amsterdam
The Treaty of Amsterdam was signed on 2 October 1997 and came into force on 1 May 1999.
The were two significant changes:
application of the co-decision procedure to new areas, together with an increase in the
cases in which the Council of the European Union can take decisions by qualified majority
instead of unanimously;
the transfer to the EC Treaty of certain matters covered by the EU Treaty (visa policy,
granting asylum and in general all questions concerning free movement); following this
transfer the heading of Title VI in the EU Treaty (third pillar) was changed to ‘Provisions
on police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters’.
1.1.7.4. Treaty of Nice
The Treaty of Nice was signed on 26 February 2001 and came into force on 1 February 2003.
The purpose of this treaty was to adapt the functioning of the European Union with a view to
enlargement. Among the changes made, the following are worth mentioning:
modification of the decision-making process;
a drastic reduction in the cases in which the Council has to take decisions unanimously;
henceforth the Council can reach a decision by qualified majority in a large number of
fields: the free movement of citizens, judicial cooperation in civil matters, industrial policy,
etc.;
changes to the weighting of votes within the Council;
changes to the structure of the institutions;
a new distribution of seats in the European Parliament;
renouncement of their second members of the Commission on the part of France, Germany,
the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain;
reinforcement of the powers of the President of the European Commission.
1.1.7.5. Other treaties and protocols are available in EUR-Lex for documentation purposes:
the Greenland Treaty (1984), which was concluded to allow Greenland to leave the EEC
in 1985 and give it the status of an overseas country or territory;
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