1. Background and Organisation of the European Union
After World War II, there was a desire for Europe to work more closely together in order to rebuild a
prosperous Europe.
1952- European Coal and Steel Community formed
1957- Treaty of Rome signed creating the European Economic Community (EEC)
1986 – Single European Act created the single European market with the ‘four freedoms’ of
 Goods
 Services
 Persons
 Capital
All four of those would be able to move freely across the borders of the member nations. i.e. you
could work, trade, move good around anywhere with the market.
1992 – Maastricht Treaty created the European Union (the EU) which extended the community into
areas including justice, home affairs, foreign and security policy.
The EU was to be based on three pillars
 The European Community
 Foreign and Security Policy
 Justice and Home Affairs
There have been notable changes since
2001 Treaty of Nice
2004 10 new states joined the EU bringing total to 25
2007 Lisbon Treaty
If you are confused by the EU – you could do worse than to read this very basic guide on CBBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_2130000/newsid_2138900/2138993.stm
This just gives you a bit of background. Or you could read this short guide from the Guardian
http://careers.guardian.co.uk/guide-to-european-union-eu-careers
You can look at this interactive guide to see how Europe has got bigger over the years

2. http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,408196,00.html
And a rather detailed timeline from the Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/6181087/Timeline-history-of-the-European-
Union.html
Watch this clip for a brief summary of how law is made in the European Union. You will also gain an
outline of what each of the main institutions in the EU is i.e.
The Council of the European Union
The European Commission
The European Parliament
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/how-a-law-is-made-in-the-european-union/7272.html
Task:
Make a poster showing the key dates in the development of the EU and the key institutions together
with a brief summary of their main functions.