THE Treaty of Rome, negotiated in 1957, created the six-nation European Economic Community.
The EEC then developed into the 15-member European Union that will conclude the Treaty of Amsterdam this week.
The following calendar tracks some of the more important events in the 40-year history of the European Union:
March 1957: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community and the goal of free movement of goods, capital, people and services.
January 1958: The European Commission, the Community's executive arm, is set up in Brussels.
January 1963: France vetoes Britain's entry to the EEC, Irish membership put on back burner Common Agricultural Policy created.
July 1963: Customs union between the six enters into force.
January 1973: Britain, Denmark and Ireland join.
March 1979: Creation of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism linking national currencies in first step to monetary union.
June 1979: First direct elections to the European Parliament.
January 1981: Greece joins.
January 1986: Spain and Portugal join.
February 1986: Signature of the Single European Act paving the way for the creation of the single European market by 1993.
February 1992: Treaty of Maastricht signed, creating the EU and setting a legally-binding timetable for the creation of a single currency by 1999.
January 1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden join.
June 1997: Treaty of Amsterdam.