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United Kingdom

United Kingdom was an EU member from 1973 to 2020.

Flag of United Kingdom
  • Former EU member

Relationship with the EU

  1. 1 January 1973Joined
  2. 31 January 2020Left the EU

Same enlargement wave · First enlargement (1973)

Milestones

No law designates an official language for the whole United Kingdom; English is the language in general use. Welsh has official status in Wales (Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011). The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs lists English as the official language.

  1. 4 April 1949Signs the North Atlantic Treaty as a founding member of NATO. nato.int
  2. 5 May 1949Founding member of the Council of Europe. archive.org
  3. 3 May 1960Founding member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). europa.eu
  4. 1 January 1973Joins the European Communities. europa.eu
  5. 1975Referendum on remaining in the EEC: 67.2% yes. europarl.europa.eu
  6. 23 June 2016Referendum on EU membership: 52% vote to leave. europa.eu
  7. 31 January 2020Leaves the European Union. europa.eu

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