The European Union

Our aim is to help you access opportunities for your business within Europe . We are able to do this, not only by commenting on the applicable law, but by seeking to network your business into opportunities which might exist.

We achieve this by working with lawyers and other professionals in many of the European Union member states.

So what do we mean by the European Union? In legal terms, the EU is founded on three treaties:

1. the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1951, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community;
2. the Treaty of Rome, signed in 1957, establishing the European Atomic Energy Community; and
3. the European Economic Treaty (also known as “The Treaty of Rome”) and which was signed in April 1957

Each of these treaties was concluded between a Community of six Member States - France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Italy .

Subsequently, the EU expanded to embrace Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Finland and Sweden.

As of 1 st May 2004 further enlargement of the EU arose with the accession to membership of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Cyprus (excluding the northern part of the Island).

The European Economic Community was renamed “the European Community” by the Treaty on European Union, signed in 1992 (“ Maastricht ” or “EU Treaty”). The EU Treaty created a new entity called the European Union.

The European Union is said to be based on three “pillars”:

1. the existing Treaties of 1951 and 1957;
2. a common foreign and security policy; and
3. co-operation in the fields of justice and home affairs.

It’s worth mentioning the European Economic Agreement, which came into effect on 1 st January 1994 . Whilst not a “community” treaty, in effect it extended the rules of the Internal Market such that it now applies to the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein .

It will be seen that the European marketplaces is indeed substantial. Whatever your business, we are here to help you make the most of the opportunities presented by the Internal Market.