European Community

The European Community (EC) is a regional organization that aims to promote economic integration, the rule of law, and human rights in Europe. It was founded in 1968, in the aftermath of Great War II, initially for the purpose of creating a lasting peace in Europe. As of 2020, it has TBD member states and a total population of TBD million.

The Community has established a common market and customs union among certain nations of Western Europe during the 1970s, which originally consisted of Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sardinia, Skandinavia, Finland, Portugal, Greece, and Austria. It gained a set of common institutions to promote trade, and its main decision-making body is the Council of Europe. It consists of representatives from each member state, with a rotating Presidency. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) was also created as the main legal authority in the organization, helping coordinate law enforcement and settling disputes between states. During the 1980s and 1990s the Community's membership expanded to eastern Europe, including Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Belarus, and to the Balkans, with Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Montenegro. After the Revolutions of 2000 and the end of the Cold War in Europe, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom joined the EC.

The organization is was established by the Treaty of Lippstadt that came into effect on 1 November 1968. The EC is also called the Common Market in English-speaking countries. During the Cold War a military alliance called the Lippstadt Pact also existed as a military counterpart to the EC, but it was dissolved in 2004 after the end of the Cold War.

Members

Flag	State	Accession	Language(s)	Currency	Population (2020)
	Austria	1 November 1968
	Belarus	30 April 1987
	Bulgaria
	Croatia
	Czech Republic	24 January 1983
	Estonia	23 June 1985
	Finland	1 November 1968
	France	1 November 1968
	Germany	1 November 1968
	Greece	1 November 1968
	Hungary
	Italy	10 September 2005
	Latvia	23 June 1985
	Lithuania	23 June 1985
	Montenegro
	Netherlands	1 November 1968
	Poland	24 January 1983
	Portugal	1 November 1968
	Romania
	Russia	30 April 1987
	Sardinia	1 November 1968
	Serbia
	Slovakia	24 January 1983
	Spain	18 October 2002
	Ukraine	30 April 1987
	United Kingdom	9 August 2003

See also

• Conference of American States