European Union

In 1990 after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a newly reunited Germany.^[14] With enlargement toward eastern Europe on the agenda, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the European Union were agreed.

The Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993.^[15] Maastricht established a revised structure and the name 'European Community' officially replaced the earlier 'European Communities'. The European Community now formed one of three pillars of the new European Union, which included co-operation in matters of foreign policy and home affairs. The term European Union generally replaced the term European Community, which will be abolished by the Treaty of Lisbon along with the pillar system.

Austria, Sweden and Finland joined in 1995. The Amsterdam Treaty in 1997 amended the Maastricht treaty in areas such as democracy and foreign policy. Amsterdam was followed by the Treaty of Nice in 2001, which revised the Rome and Maastricht treaties to allow the EU to cope with further enlargement to the east.

In 2002, twelve member states adopted the euro as a single currency. Since then, the Eurozone has increased to encompassing fifteen countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when ten new countries, most of which former parts of the Eastern Bloc, acceded the Union.^[16] Three years later, two more joined.^[16]

A treaty establishing a constitution for the EU was signed in Rome in 2004, intended to replace all previous treaties with a single document. However, it never completed ratification after rejection by French and Dutch voters in referenda. In 2007, it was agreed to replace that proposal with a new Reform Treaty, that would amend rather than replace the existing treaties. This treaty was signed on 13 December 2007 in Lisbon and is known as the Lisbon treaty.^[17] It will come in effect in January 2009 if ratified by that date.

The Iron Curtain's fall enabled eastward enlargement. (Berlin Wall)

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union