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Candidates for EU membership
EU expansion 1952 - 2004

The European Union has its roots in the 1951 agreement by France, Germany and four other countries to pool coal and steel supplies, with the aim of ending "age-old rivalries".

The European Coal and Steel Community came into existence in July 1952. Moves to create a broader "common market" began with the creation of the European Economic Community, six years later.

The first enlargement took place in 1973. The fifth and largest is occurring in 2004.
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