Third Year History Slides on Postwar Europe - the formation of the EEC.

1. The Establishment of the EEC

2. Today...
• European countries cooperate on a wide range of issues
• Common travel in Europe
• Common currency and a common market

3. After two World Wars...
• After 1945 Europe lay in ruins.... And was to become a major
battleground between Communist East and Capitalist West
• Some European leader decided that European countries
needed to replace conflict with co-operation
• Three key leaders at this time were Adenauer (Germany), De
Gaulle (France) and Gasperi (Italy)

4. 2011 Paper (Ordinary)

5. BENELUX
First attempt at Economic Co-
Operation between Countries
Showed that free trade between
European countries could work

6. European Coal and Steel Community
• Coal and Steel were essential resources for industry
• Hitler wanted to control Europe’s coal and steel – maybe a
future dictator would too?
• Solution – share the resources amongst all countries, no need
to fight to control them then.

7. Signing of the Treaty of Paris, 1951

8. 1955 – Messina Conference
• The ECSC was so successful that people began to think of
creating a common trading area – goods and services could be
traded across borders without customs checks
• Without this agreement buying items online would not be
possible today

9. 1957 – Treaty of Rome
• Established a common market in Europe
• Set up a European Social fund to improve living standards in
Europe
• Allowed free movement of workers in Europe
• Developed a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to promote a
fair standard of living for farmers
• This treaty created the European Economic Community (EEC)
which later became the European Union (EU)

10. N2 Road in Monaghan – built with
European Structural funds

11. European Parliament, Brussels,
Belgium

12. Britain and the EEC
• Britain tried to join the EEC in 1963 and again in 1967 but was
blocked by France
• Important for Ireland as Britain was our main trading partner
– if they joined it was in our interests to do so too.
• Eventually Britain and Ireland joined in 1973, after De Gaulle
had retired

13. Key events
• 1951 – European Coal and Steel Community founded
• 1957 – Treaty of Rome establishes the EEC
• 1991 – Maastricht treaty – EEC becomes EU
• 1999 – Euro currency introduced
• The EU has continued to grow and now contains 28 members

14. EU today

15. 2012 Paper (Higher)

16. People in History