A Union of Convenience

EU Photo: Wikipedia
Sculpture outside of European Central Bank
The European Union started with six Western European countries after World War II as the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 (Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands). By 1973 the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Ireland joined what had become known as the European Community. Greece became a member in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986, Austria, Finland, and Sweden in 1995, eight former communist countries in 2004 (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) plus Malta and Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, and Croatia in 2013, the 28th member. Continue reading