People used to dream of a united Europe living in peace and
friendship. After the Second World War, their dream started to become
reality. It began with the creation of the Coal and Steel Community,
then the European Economic Community and the formation of a "common
market". The EEC used to be six members and then other countries
joined. In 1967 the three European communities - ECSC, EURATOM, EEC -
joined together to form a single Commission and a single Council of
Ministers as well as the European Parliament. The Treaty of Maastricht
(1992) introduced new forms of co-operation and created the European
Union (EU). Passport and customs checks were abolished at most of the
EU's internal borders and this offered greater mobility for EU
citizens. On 1 January 2002 the Euro replaced national currencies in
twelve of the 15 countries of the European Union. With enlargement ten
more countries in eastern and southern Europe joined the EU in 2004.