EU History 1945-59

Question 1

End of WW II

Answer 1

8th of May 1945, Victory Day, 60 Mio people had died since Sep 1939, 6 Mio Jews had been killed

Question 2

Foundation of the United Nations

Answer 2

24 October 1945

After the devastation of World War II, the United Nations
is created with a mission to maintain international peace and security. Today 193 countries are members (including all 27 EU Member States) — that’s almost every country in the world. Its most powerful body is the Security Council, which has five permanent members: China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October every year.

Question 3

When was the term Cold war first used?

Answer 3

Cold War
1 January 1947

Political tensions between eastern and western Europe over ideology, economics and government lead to a ‘Cold War’- fought with proxy wars rather than direct military conflict - that lasts for more than 40 years. Tensions between the two spheres had begun in 1945, but the term ‘Cold War’ was first used in 1947 in a speech by Bernard Baruch, an American Statesman. The expression was then widely used to designate this period in history.

Question 4

Congress of Europe
7 May 1948

Answer 4

Congress of Europe
7 May 1948

Around 800 representatives from European countries meet at the Congress of Europe in the Dutch city of The Hague to discuss new forms of cooperation.

Question 5

Foundation of NATO
OTAN (Organisation du traité de l’atlantique nord)

Answer 5

NATO
4 April 1949

The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), an alliance between the United States, Canada and 10 western European countries. Its purpose is to ensure safety and freedom for its members. NATO remains a cornerstone of western defence today. Article 5 of the treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, meaning that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. It was put into practice for the first time in 2001 following the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September. Today NATO has 32 member countries, including the EU Member States. Its headquarters are in Brussels.

Question 6

NATO members
(fr. OTAN)

Answer 6

Albania 2009
Belgium 1949
Bulgaria 2004
Canada 1949
Croatia 2009
Czechia 1999
Denmark 1949
Estonia 2004
Finland 2023
France 1949
Germany 1955
Greece 1952
Hungary 1999
Iceland 1949
Italy 1949
Latvia 2004
Lithuania 2004
Luxembourg 1949
Montenegro 2017
Netherlands 1949
North Macedonia 2020
Norway 1949
Poland 1999
Portugal 1949
Romania 2004
Slovakia 2004
Slovenia 2004
Spain 1982
Sweden 2024
Türkiye 1952
United Kingdom 1949
United States 1949

Question 7

NATO founding members

Answer 7

1949

Canda, US and 10 European countries:
Iceland, UK, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Portugal

Question 8

Creation of Council of Europe
Le Conseil de l’Europe
Europarat

Answer 8

Council of Europe
5 May 1949

Western European nations create the Council of Europe
as a first step towards cooperation between them. Its aim is to promote democracy and protect human rights. Today 47 countries — almost the entire European continent — belong to the Council of Europe. It is most famous for drawing up the European Convention on Human Rights, which was signed in 1950 and came into effect in 1953. The European Court of Human Rights was created on 21 January 1959 to ensure that countries respect the rights and guarantees set out in the convention. It is based in Strasbourg, France. The Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights are completely separate organisations from the European Union.

Question 9

European Convention on Human Rights

Answer 9

Most famous act of council of Europe. Signed in 1950 and came into effect in 1953.

Question 10

European Court of Human Rights

Answer 10

The European Court of Human Rights was created on 21 January 1959 to ensure that countries respect the rights and guarantees set out in the convention. It is based in Strasbourg, France. The Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights are completely separate organisations from the European Union.

Question 11

Schuman Declaration and Europe Day

Answer 11

Schuman Declaration and Europe Day
9 May 1950

5 years after the end of World War II, the then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presents a plan for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union. This is why the EU celebrates its birthday — Europe Day — on this day every year.

Question 12

European Coal and Steel Community
La Communauté européenne du Charbon et de l’Acier
Die Europäische Gemeinschaft für Kohle und Stahl

Answer 12

The six founding countries
18 April 1951

Schuman’s vision starts to take shape when six countries — Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands — sign a treaty to create a European institution that would pool and manage coal and steel production. With these countries deciding together what to do with Europe’s coal and steel, no single nation can build weapons without the other nations knowing about it.

Question 13

Court of Justice of the EU
Cour de justice de l’Union européenne
Gerichtshof der Europäischen Union

Answer 13

Court of Justice of the EU
1 January 1952

The Court of Justice of the European Union
— the EU’s highest legal authority — is created. Its job is to ensure that EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way in every EU country, and that countries and EU institutions abide by EU laws. The Court of Justice is based in Luxembourg.

Question 14

Rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU

Answer 14

Rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU
8 September 1952

The presidency of the Council of the EU is not held by a person but by a Member State that chairs meetings, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU’s work. EU countries share this work on a rotating basis. The rotations began in 1952 when the Federal Republic of Germany held the presidency from September to December. The presidency started to rotate every 6 months from 1958 and continues to do so today. As the EU has grown in size, a trio of presidencies now cooperate on a common political programme.

Last: Belgium, Current: Hungary, Next: Poland

Question 15

The Coal Market opens

Answer 15

The Coal Market opens
18 February 1953

The coal market opens within the European Coal and Steel Community. The common market for coal and iron ore is put into place. Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands remove custom duties and quantitative restrictions on these raw materials. The steel market opens in May.

Question 16

First Eurovision Song Contest

Answer 16

First Eurovision Song Contest
24 May 1956

The first edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Lugano, Switzerland, with the aim of bringing European countries closer together after World War II. The contest, which later launched the careers of stars such as ABBA and Céline Dion, was awarded the Charlemagne Medal in 2016 for its contribution to European unity.

Question 17

European Social Fund

Answer 17

European Social Fund
25 March 1957

The European Social Fund is established with the aim of improving job opportunities for workers and raising their standard of living. Today it is an important driver of job creation, promoting better education and more modern public administrations, and helps to improve living standards for children and their families.

Question 18

Treaty of Rome

Answer 18

Treaty of Rome
25 March 1957

Building on the success of the coal and steel treaty, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands expand cooperation to other economic sectors. They sign the Treaties of Rome, creating the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the European Economic Community or ‘common market’, allowing people, goods and services to move freely across borders.

Question 19

Sputnik 1

Answer 19

Space Age
4 October 1957

The ‘Space Age’ begins when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, a satellite the size of a basketball, into orbit. A few years later, on 12 April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin takes off from the same launch pad to become the first person in space.

Question 20

Walter Hallstein

Answer 20

Walter Hallstein (DE, CDU, law professor and university dean of Rostock and later FRA university, soldier in WWII, war prisoner in the US, later consulting Adenauer on foreign policy, negotiation Bonn Agreement and Paris agreement and Schumann plan togeher with Jean Monnet)

7 January 1958

Walter Hallstein becomes the first President of the European Commission, a post he holds until 30 June 1967.

Question 21

European Parliamentary Assembly

Answer 21

European Parliament
19 March 1958

Today’s European Parliament traces its origins back to the Common Assembly of ‘representatives of the people’ of the European Coal and Steel Community. After the creation of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, it expands to cover all three communities. The new European Parliamentary Assembly, made up of 142 members, meets for the first time in Strasbourg in 1958. It changes its name to the European Parliament on 30 March 1962.

Question 22

“Regulation no. 1”

Answer 22

EU languages
15 April 1958

Adoption of “Regulation no. 1”, regulation setting out the official and working languages to be used in the European Community’s correspondence, as well as for publishing legislation and other documents. This milestone document, amended to reflect successive enlargements, still applies to the European Union today.