European Communities - Members

Members

Further information: Member state of the European Union and Enlargement of the European Union

The three Communities shared the same membership, the six states that signed the Treaty of Paris and subsequent treaties were known as the "Inner Six" (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association). The six founding countries 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. Following the creation of the EU in 1993, it has enlarged to include a further fifteen countries by 2007.

State	Accession
Belgium	25 March 1957
Italy	25 March 1957
Luxembourg	25 March 1957
France	25 March 1957
Netherlands	25 March 1957
West Germany	25 March 1957
Denmark	1 January 1973
Ireland	1 January 1973
United Kingdom	1 January 1973
Greece	1 January 1981
Portugal	1 January 1986
Spain	1 January 1986

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.