Integration

The European Union is an economic and political association of 28 democratic European countries that has grown with many treaties after the signing of the Treaty of Rome (25th March 1957).

• Single European Act (February 1986). This agreement aims at getting full  economic integration.Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty, 7th February 1992). It made the European Economic Community become the European Union,
• Treaty of Amsterdam (2th October 1997).
• Creation of the euro (1st January 1999). The single currency came into  circulation in 2002 in many of the European countries, although it was used for financial transactions since 1999, when its value was fixed. The European Central Bank (ECB) is in charge of ruling the monetary policy within the eurozone. It guarantees the stability of prices and manages the euro
• Treaty of Nice (26th February 2001). It reformed the institutions of the EU and reinforced the division of powers with a view to the enlargement of the EU.
• Another major treaty was the Schengen Agreement, which established an area with no internal borders where people and goods can move freely.