Members




The six states that founded the EEC and the other two Communities were known as the "inner six" (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association). The six were France, West Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Greece, Spain and Portugal joined in the 1980s. The former East Germany became part of the EEC upon German reunification in 1990. Following the creation of the EU in 1993, it has enlarged to include an additional sixteen countries by 2013.

Flag State Accession Language(s) Currency Population
(1990)
Belgium 25 March 1957 Dutch, French and German Belgian francnote 10,016,000
France 25 March 1957 French French franc 56,718,000
West Germany/Germanynote 25 March 1957 German German mark 63,254,000note
Italy 25 March 1957 Italian Italian lira 56,762,700
Luxembourg 25 March 1957 French, German and Luxembourgish Luxembourgish francnote 384,400
Netherlands 25 March 1957 Dutch and Frisian Dutch guilder 14,892,300
Denmark 1 January 1973 Danish Danish krone 5,146,500
Ireland 1 January 1973 Irish and English Irish pound 3,521,000
United Kingdom 1 January 1973 English Pound sterling 57,681,000
Greece 1 January 1981 Greek Greek drachma 10,120,000
Portugal 1 January 1986 Portuguese Portuguese escudo 9,862,500
Spain 1 January 1986 Spanishnote Spanish peseta 38,993,800

Member states are represented in some form in each institution. The Council is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government. Each state also has a right to one European Commissioner each, although in the European Commission they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of the Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) have had two Commissioners. In the European Parliament, members are allocated a set number seats related to their population, however these (since 1979) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin. Most other institutions, including the European Court of Justice, have some form of national division of its members.

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