Per decade, the series “Together we have built Europe” explains the challenges, constraints and progress as well as the projects that have marked the history of the European Union. Hafsa, who works for the European Commission Department in charge of European regional and urban policy, and her colleague Pinto travel back in time to the 1990s.
This decade was characterised by globalisation and by events such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the peace process in Northern Ireland. At the same time, the integration of the European continent continued thanks to a strong open-border policy; the member states grew closer together and collaborated ever more closely!
With the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, the European Economic Community (EEC) became the European Union. The aim was to mobilise the member states and bring European citizens closer together within an ever stronger and more harmonious union. Since then, the institutions have addressed much more than socio-economic issues.
In 1995, the European Union was enlarged with Austria, Finland and Sweden.
