From devastation to prosperity, but..

From devastation to prosperity, but..



Following Second World War, war-torn Europe has launched a new process in order to throw off the perplexity with the idea setting up a union.

The European Union was set up with the aim of ending the bloody wars between neighbors, which culminated in the Second World War.

The search of the European foremost leaders was a permanent solution to relieve the heavy burden of the wars and being a remedy for the war-tired European.

The first step of the union, which enabled the union's countries, achieved prosperity based on the natural resources of Europe called the European Coal and Steel Community.

As of 1950, the European Coal and Steel Community began to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace. In 1951, Treaty of Paris was signed forming European Coal and Steel Community.

The six founders of the union are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

In 1957, the union came to a second treaty stage. The Treaty of Rome formed the European Economic Community (EEC), or 'Common Market'.

Beginning in 1950, the union movement had begun to advance happily for the member countries. The union has been proved its success and welfare in the 1960s.

In the 1970s, the union saw the last right-wing dictatorships in Europe came to an end with the overthrowing of the Salazar regime in Portugal in 1974 and the death of General Franco of Spain in 1975. Hence, a new period has begun for these two countries.

In 1981, Greece becomes the 10th member of the EU and Spain and Portugal follow five years later. In 1985, a small village in Luxembourg gave its name to the 'Schengen' agreements which aim a borderless zone in Europe, gradually allow people to travel without having their passports checked at the borders.

In 1987, the Single European Act is signed. This is a treaty which provides the basis for a vast six-year programme aimed at sorting out the problems with the free-flow of trade across EU borders and thus generates the 'Single Market'.

When date showed 9 Nov. 1989, there was a major political upheaval, the Berlin Wall is pulled down and the border between East and West Germany is opened for the first time in 28 years, this leads to the reunification of Germany when both East and West Germany are united in October 1990.

In 1993, with the Treaty of Maastricht, the Community clearly went beyond its original economic objective, formation of a common market, and its political ambitions came to the fore. The treaty is commented as the result of external and internal events, especially collapse of communism.

In 1995, the EU gained three more new members, Austria, Finland and Sweden.

Following collapse of communism EU has opened its arms to its neighbors that had been punished for long years under the communism dicta regime. Almost all the rest Eastern block countries in the European continent are taken into the Union one by one.

The first decade of 2000 is seen as the biggest enlargement process, number of member country reached 27 in the EU.

On the line to be a member, there are candidate countries.

As for journey of Turkey's EU integration process, exceed a half century, however, it is not clear when the membership to be accepted. Turkey is continuing to achieving integration process one by one.

In addition to Turkey, there are other three candidates such as Croatia, Macedonia and Iceland. There are also potential candidates; Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia.

After the global economic crisis, which appeared in 2008, has brought heavy burden on the economy of the union as in the entire world. But it has not been yet overcome completely. Nowadays, winds of a new crisis blow on Eurozone. Currently, it is not clear when this new crisis to be defeated and what kind of result can bring for the union.