Since May 1, 2004 the European Union consists of 25 Member States. Europe has come a long way since May 1950, when Robert Schuman, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed that the old foes France and Germany (who fought each other in 1870, 1914-18 and 1940-44) and any other European country wishing to join them should pool their coal and steel resources. Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg also subscribed to this Schuman Declaration. These six countries then in 1957 signed the Declaration of Rome, laying the foundation for what would evolve into the European Union. By successive accessions the EU grew into an economic and commercial giant of 450 million people. In 1973 Denmark, Ireland and Britainjoined the Union; in 1981 Greece; in 1986 Spain and Portugal; in 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden, and finally, in May 2004, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta. The East European countries Romania and Bulgaria, to which many CMT activities have shifted over the last years, are expected to join in 2007 or 2008, as well as Turkey (though this country, a great textile producer, is mainly situated on the Asian continent).
展开▼
