I remember when the European Union, and the creation of the Euro, was being discussed and formulated. I was sitting in an economics class in college.
The European Union would be the culmination of a series of efforts to unify Western Europe – starting in 1951 with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and later, the 1957 creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) – which removed many barriers of trade between member nations. Over time, the EEC added additional European nations and expanded its influence and scale. Fast forward to 1987 and the creation of the Single European Act (SEA) which strengthened both legal and foreign policy influence and concentrated the decision-making power of the EEC. It also established a timetable of 1992 for the completion of a common market. And thus, the Maastricht Treaty was signed on February 7, 1992 and formally created the European Union (EU) – it also called for a common currency – the yet to be named Euro.Continue Reading