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Description

Having emerged from the ruins of the Second World War, European states were determined to rebuild Europe and to eliminate the possibility of another catastrophic war. They mainly focused on strengthening economic ties, by forming trading treaties, in order to achieve peace and prosperity. However, none could have imagined that the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) set up by only six states in 1951 would evolve into a full-scale economic and political partnership encompassing 25 European states by 2006. The turning point for this was the establishment of the European Union (EU) by the Treaty of Maastricht on 7 February 1992. With this treaty, member states concentrated their efforts in achieving political objectives such as developing the Community’s social dimension as well as establishing common policies in both domestic and foreign affairs. Decisions on matters of joint interest can now be made democratically at European level through the common institutions that have been set up by member states. The major institutions of European Union are: the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission and finally the European Court of Justice (ECJ).