Stage 1: 1947-57 Regional Cooperation
1948: Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)
Example
- to distribute the Marshall Plan aid & coordinate reconstruction work
Participating countries: Britain
Reasons
- to rebuild the post-war Europe
- to contain the spread of communism
Results
- Laid the foundation for future economic cooperation
1948: Benelux Union
Example
- to promote free flow of goods, resources & manpower among the member states
Participating countries: Belgium, Netherlands & Luxembourg
Reasons
- the need of pooling resources together for economic recovery
1952: European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
Example
- to enlarge the scale of cooperation to the production of coal & steel (Schuman Plan, Schuman = the leader of France)
Participating countries: France (lead), West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands & Luxembourg (InnerSix)
Reason
- to use economic cooperation to end hostility between France and Germany
Results
- facilitate economic recovery though cooperation
- trade and production increased rapidly
- steel production increased by 50% during its first five years
- steel output ranked steel to US in 1960
Stage 2: 1958-72 Formation of two rival economic blocs
1958: European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)
Example
- to extend cooperation in the production of atomic energy
- set up energy research center to exchange information & to develop peaceful use of the energy
Participating countries: Six ECSC members (Inner Six)
Reason
- the economic benefits from the ECSC encouraged the member states to have wider cooperation
1958: European Economic Community (EEC)
Example
- to remove tariff barriers between its member states
- to impose a unified tariff on all foreign trade
- to encourage the free flow of goods, resources & labour
- to introduce a common agricultural policy
- to standardise salary, social welfare & units of measurement
Participating countires: Six ECSC members (Britain was missing --> suspicious? autonomy?)
Reason
- the economic benefits from the ECSC encouraged the member states to have wider cooperation
Results
- EC became the world's largest export region, biggest buyer of industrial raw materials --> output of steel ranked second to US
1960: European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
Example
- to remove internal tariff barriers between its members (but no unified tariff imposed on external trade)
Participating countries: Britain, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Seitzerland & Austria (Outer Seven)
Reason
- the British refusal to join the EEC made her economically isolated in Europe so as to uphold her sovereignty and control over her economy
- to counterbalance EEC
Result
- the achievements were not remarkable --> members from European Free Trade Association joined the EEC later
1967: European Community (EC)
Example
- to merge ECSC, EURATOM & EEC into one organization
- to impose a unified tariff on foreign trade
- to carry out a common agricultural policy
- to set up a European monetary system & launch a common European currency
Participating countries: Six ECSC members
Reason
- the European countries attempted to established a united states of Europe
Result
- Established a customs union with common external tariff and set up agricultural policy (1960s)
Stage 3: 1973-91 Expansion of the EC
1986: Expansion of European Community (EC), Single European Act
Example
- introduced the Exchange Rate Mechanism (1979) to link the currencies of the member states
- signed the Single European Act (1986) for wider cooperation, e.g. creation of a common market for trade, more power to the European Parliament
Participating countries: (1986) Inner Six + Outer Seven, except Switzerland & Norway
(1973) Britain (rejected twice), Denmark, Ireland
(1981) Greece
(1986) Spain, Portugal
(1995) Finland
Reason
- EFTA was not effective
- Stepping down of de Gaulle in France made the admission of Britain possible
- the success of EC encouraged wider cooperation
Result
- set up an internal accounting unit for its member state currency (1979)
Stage 4: 1992-2007 European Integration-developed from a pure economic organization into a regional economic and political union (non-economic aspect)
1992: Treaty of Maastricht
1993: European Union (EU)
Example
- granted European citizenship to people in the member states (mobility is high, favourable working environment)
- encouraged cooperation in environmental, education and other aspects
- extended cooperation in environmental, education and other aspects
- extended cooperation to non-economic areas, e.g. diplomacy and security on labour and social issue
- adopted a common external policy and national defense
- introduced the currency of Euro (1999)
- established organization that aimed at monetary and political unity
Participating countries
(1993) France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Britan, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland & Sweden
(2004) former Soviet satellites states, e.g. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia
(2007) Rumania, Bulgaria
(2016) Brexit
Reasons
- the success in economic cooperation inspired Europeans to have even greater cooperation
- to enhance international status of Europe in world politics
- the collapse of the USSR and the communist bloc enabled the extension of integration between Western and Eastern Europe
Results
- integration facilitated economic development
- fostering friendly relations among the member states
- raising Europe's international status
- cultivated a sense of European identity
- closer cooperation in political, economic and diplomatic aspects
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