{"slug": "european-union", "label": "European Union", "wikipedia": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union", "wikidata": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q458", "qid": "Q458", "description": "political and economic union of 27 European states", "entries": 39, "years": 28, "span": [1950, 2025], "span_label": ["1950 CE", "2025 CE"], "topics": [{"title": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "count": 26}, {"title": "Economy & Finance", "count": 7}, {"title": "Religion & Belief", "count": 2}, {"title": "Crime & Justice", "count": 1}, {"title": "Conflict & Security", "count": 1}, {"title": "Health & Medicine", "count": 1}, {"title": "Technology & Infrastructure", "count": 1}], "related": [{"slug": "united-kingdom", "label": "United Kingdom", "shared": 7}, {"slug": "european-economic-community", "label": "European Economic Community", "shared": 3}, {"slug": "turkey", "label": "Turkey", "shared": 3}, {"slug": "sweden", "label": "Sweden", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "denmark", "label": "Denmark", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "international-monetary-fund", "label": "International Monetary Fund", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "croatia", "label": "Croatia", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "republic-of-ireland", "label": "Republic of Ireland", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "greece", "label": "Greece", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "slovenia", "label": "Slovenia", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "malta", "label": "Malta", "shared": 2}, {"slug": "czech-republic", "label": "Czech Republic", "shared": 2}], "items": [{"year": 1950, "year_label": "1950 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "May 9", "text": "May 9 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal for the creation of a pan-European organisation, which he believes to be indispensable to the maintenance of permanently peaceful relations between the different nations of the continent. This proposal, known as the \"Schuman Declaration\", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what becomes the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371638577#May", "title": "1950", "revid": 1371638577, "section": "Events › May"}}, {"year": 1957, "year_label": "1957 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "March 25", "text": "March 25 – The Treaty of Rome (Patto di Roma) establishes the European Economic Community (EEC; predecessor of the European Union) between Italy, France, West Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371361971#March", "title": "1957", "revid": 1371361971, "section": "Events › March"}}, {"year": 1973, "year_label": "1973 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "January 1", "text": "January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373239256#January", "title": "1973", "revid": 1373239256, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 1981, "year_label": "1981 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "January 1", "text": "January 1 – Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369107326#January", "title": "1981", "revid": 1369107326, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 1986, "year_label": "1986 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "January 1", "text": "January 1 – Spain and Portugal enter the European Community, which becomes the European Union in 1993.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373510075#January", "title": "1986", "revid": 1373510075, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 1992, "year_label": "1992 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "February 7", "text": "February 7 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, founding the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1368521010#February", "title": "1992", "revid": 1368521010, "section": "Events › February"}}, {"year": 1993, "year_label": "1993 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "November 1", "text": "November 1 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1366430372#November", "title": "1993", "revid": 1366430372, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 1994, "year_label": "1994 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "November 13", "text": "November 13 – Voters in Sweden decide to join the European Union in a referendum.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369917016#November", "title": "1994", "revid": 1369917016, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 1994, "year_label": "1994 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "November 28", "text": "November 28 – Voters in Norway decide not to join the European Union in a referendum.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369917016#November", "title": "1994", "revid": 1369917016, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 1995, "year_label": "1995 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "January 1", "text": "January 1 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372467239#January", "title": "1995", "revid": 1372467239, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 1996, "year_label": "1996 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "April 9", "text": "April 9 – In a common statement, the European Union officially recognises the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371596794#April", "title": "1996", "revid": 1371596794, "section": "Events › April"}}, {"year": 1998, "year_label": "1998 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "March 21", "text": "March 21 – The European Union announces an arms embargo against Serbia and Montenegro.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373236679#March", "title": "1998", "revid": 1373236679, "section": "Events › March"}}, {"year": 1999, "year_label": "1999 CE", "section": "Crime & Justice", "date": "July 1", "text": "July 1 – Europol (short for European Police Office) the European Union's criminal intelligence agency becomes fully operational.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369767946#July", "title": "1999", "revid": 1369767946, "section": "Events › July"}}, {"year": 2003, "year_label": "2003 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "April 16", "text": "April 16 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens between the European Union and ten countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia), concerning these countries' accession into the EU, leading to the 2004 enlargement of the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371470479#April", "title": "2003", "revid": 1371470479, "section": "Events › April"}}, {"year": 2003, "year_label": "2003 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "March 8", "text": "March 8 – Malta approves joining the European Union in a referendum.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371470479#March", "title": "2003", "revid": 1371470479, "section": "Events › March"}}, {"year": 2005, "year_label": "2005 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "October 3", "text": "October 3 – Croatia and Turkey's accession negotiations to the European Union officially starts.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1368527363#October", "title": "2005", "revid": 1368527363, "section": "Events › October"}}, {"year": 2007, "year_label": "2007 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "January 1", "text": "January 1 – Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eurozone.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370930640#January", "title": "2007", "revid": 1370930640, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 2009, "year_label": "2009 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "December 22", "text": "December 22 – Serbia applied for membership to the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367728140#December", "title": "2009", "revid": 1367728140, "section": "Events › December"}}, {"year": 2009, "year_label": "2009 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "November 3", "text": "November 3 – The Czech Republic becomes the final member-state of the European Union to sign the Treaty of Lisbon, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367728140#November", "title": "2009", "revid": 1367728140, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 2009, "year_label": "2009 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "October 2", "text": "October 2 – Ireland holds a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty. The amendment is approved by the Irish electorate, having been rejected in the Lisbon I referendum held last year.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1367728140#October", "title": "2009", "revid": 1367728140, "section": "Events › October"}}, {"year": 2010, "year_label": "2010 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "April 27", "text": "April 27 – Standard & Poor's downgrades Greece's sovereign credit rating to junk 4 days after the activation of a €45-billion EU–IMF bailout, triggering the decline of stock markets worldwide and of the euro's value, and furthering a European sovereign debt crisis.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372829682#April", "title": "2010", "revid": 1372829682, "section": "Events › April"}}, {"year": 2010, "year_label": "2010 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "November 29", "text": "November 29 – The European Union agree to an €85 billion rescue deal for Ireland from the European Financial Stability Facility, the International Monetary Fund and bilateral loans from the United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372829682#November", "title": "2010", "revid": 1372829682, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 2012, "year_label": "2012 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "January 23", "text": "January 23 – Iran–European Union relations: the European Union adopts an embargo against Iran in protest of its continued effort to enrich uranium.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373434549#January", "title": "2012", "revid": 1373434549, "section": "Events › January"}}, {"year": 2013, "year_label": "2013 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "July 1", "text": "July 1 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373160550#July", "title": "2013", "revid": 1373160550, "section": "Events › July"}}, {"year": 2013, "year_label": "2013 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "November 21", "text": "November 21 – Euromaidan pro-EU demonstrations begin in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych rejects an economic association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine in favor of closer ties to Russia.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373160550#November", "title": "2013", "revid": 1373160550, "section": "Events › November"}}, {"year": 2016, "year_label": "2016 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "June 23", "text": "June 23 – The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, triggering the so-called Brexit.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373421880#June", "title": "2016", "revid": 1373421880, "section": "Events › June"}}, {"year": 2017, "year_label": "2017 CE", "section": "Religion & Belief", "date": "April 25", "text": "April 25 – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) unanimously adopted a call to place Turkey back under monitoring due to setbacks in democracy, human rights, the rule of law, freedom of expression, and judicial independence. Turkey last officially exited the monitoring process in 2004 when it began accession negotiations with the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371948773#April", "title": "2017", "revid": 1371948773, "section": "Events › April"}}, {"year": 2017, "year_label": "2017 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "March 29", "text": "March 29 – The United Kingdom triggers Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, starting the Brexit negotiations, the talks for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371948773#March", "title": "2017", "revid": 1371948773, "section": "Events › March"}}, {"year": 2018, "year_label": "2018 CE", "section": "Conflict & Security", "date": "May 20", "text": "May 20 – The 2018 Venezuelan presidential election was held with incumbent President Nicolás Maduro reelected with 67.8% of the vote and the lowest turnout in Venezuela's modern democratic history since the 1958 coup d'état. The elections were denounced as a \"sham\" by several Latin American countries, the United States, Canada, the Organization of American States and the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373090883#May", "title": "2018", "revid": 1373090883, "section": "Events › May"}}, {"year": 2018, "year_label": "2018 CE", "section": "Health & Medicine", "date": "May 25", "text": "May 25 – The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect, imposing strict privacy controls for European citizens worldwide.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373090883#May", "title": "2018", "revid": 1373090883, "section": "Events › May"}}, {"year": 2019, "year_label": "2019 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "February 12", "text": "February 12 – The Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia, officially ending a decades-old dispute with Greece and paving the way for the former's integration into NATO and the EU.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1373255188#February", "title": "2019", "revid": 1373255188, "section": "Events › February"}}, {"year": 2020, "year_label": "2020 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "December 24", "text": "December 24 – The United Kingdom and the European Union agree to a comprehensive free trade agreement prior to the end of the transition period.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371633312#December", "title": "2020", "revid": 1371633312, "section": "Events › December"}}, {"year": 2021, "year_label": "2021 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "April 28", "text": "April 28 – The European Union approves the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, governing the relationship between the EU and UK after Brexit.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372689859#April", "title": "2021", "revid": 1372689859, "section": "Events › April"}}, {"year": 2021, "year_label": "2021 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "May 19", "text": "May 19 – The European Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the formal suspension of accession negotiations between the European Union and Turkey.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372689859#May", "title": "2021", "revid": 1372689859, "section": "Events › May"}}, {"year": 2023, "year_label": "2023 CE", "section": "Geopolitics & Diplomacy", "date": "February 14", "text": "February 14 – The European Parliament approves a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the European Union from 2035, citing the need to combat climate change in Europe and promote electric vehicles.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372811827#February", "title": "2023", "revid": 1372811827, "section": "Events › February"}}, {"year": 2023, "year_label": "2023 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "July 9", "text": "July 9 – New Zealand signs a free trade agreement with the European Union, increasing bilateral trade.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372811827#July", "title": "2023", "revid": 1372811827, "section": "Events › July"}}, {"year": 2024, "year_label": "2024 CE", "section": "Technology & Infrastructure", "date": "March 13", "text": "March 13 – The Artificial Intelligence Act, the world's first comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence, is passed by the European Union.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371869228#March", "title": "2024", "revid": 1371869228, "section": "Events › March"}}, {"year": 2025, "year_label": "2025 CE", "section": "Economy & Finance", "date": "December 19", "text": "December 19 – EU leaders approve a €90bn ($105bn) loan for Ukraine for the next two years, which Kyiv will repay only once Russia pays reparations.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372865033#December", "title": "2025", "revid": 1372865033, "section": "Events › December"}}, {"year": 2025, "year_label": "2025 CE", "section": "Religion & Belief", "date": "January 1", "text": "January 1 – Poland takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Hungarian presidency.", "cite": {"url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372865033#January", "title": "2025", "revid": 1372865033, "section": "Events › January"}}]}