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The European treaties

The European Union rests on treaties signed and ratified by all its members. Each one changed what the Union can do and how it decides.

  1. 1951Treaty of Paris (ECSC Treaty)The Treaty of Paris, signed on 18 April 1951 by six countries, created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which placed coal and steel production under a common authority. It was the first European Community and the model for today's EU institutions. It expired in 2002.Signed 18 April 1951 · in force 23 July 1952
  2. 1957Treaties of Rome (EEC and Euratom)The Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 by the six ECSC countries, created the European Economic Community (EEC), with a common market and a customs union, and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The EEC Treaty, renamed several times, is today the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.Signed 25 March 1957 · in force 1 January 1958
  3. 1965Merger Treaty (Treaty of Brussels)The Merger Treaty, signed in Brussels on 8 April 1965, replaced the separate executives of the three European Communities (ECSC, EEC and Euratom) with a single Commission and a single Council. It entered into force on 1 July 1967.Signed 8 April 1965 · in force 1 July 1967
  4. 1986Single European ActThe Single European Act, signed in February 1986 by the twelve member states, set the goal of completing the single market by 1 January 1993. To get there, it extended qualified majority voting in the Council and gave the European Parliament its first real role in legislation.Signed 17 February 1986 · in force 1 July 1987
  5. 1992Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union)The Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992, created the European Union, which came into being on 1 November 1993. It set the path to a single currency, added cooperation on foreign policy and on justice and home affairs, and gave the European Parliament the power to co-decide laws.Signed 7 February 1992 · in force 1 November 1993
  6. 1997Treaty of AmsterdamThe Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on 2 October 1997 by the fifteen member states, extended the European Parliament's codecision powers, brought the Schengen rules and much of asylum and immigration policy into the EU framework, and gave employment policy a place in the treaties.Signed 2 October 1997 · in force 1 May 1999
  7. 2001Treaty of NiceThe Treaty of Nice, signed on 26 February 2001, adapted the EU institutions to the arrival of ten new members in 2004: it reweighted votes in the Council, capped the size of the Commission and the Parliament, and extended majority voting. Irish voters first rejected it in 2001.Signed 26 February 2001 · in force 1 February 2003
  8. 2004Constitutional TreatyThe Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, was meant to replace the existing EU treaties with a single text. It never entered into force: voters rejected it in France on 29 May 2005 (54.67% no) and in the Netherlands on 1 June 2005 (61.54% no).Signed 29 October 2004 · never in force
  9. 2007Treaty of LisbonThe Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 and in force since 1 December 2009, is the treaty under which the EU works today. It created a permanent President of the European Council, made the Charter of Fundamental Rights binding, extended majority voting and Parliament's powers, and added a withdrawal clause.Signed 13 December 2007 · in force 1 December 2009