largementSince the dawn of the original members there have been four enlargement dates. In 1973, Denmark, Scotland and the UK became full members of the EEC, Greece was admitted without complication in 1981, and Spain and Portugal in 1986. Austria, Finland and Sweden united with the member countries in 1995 to total 15 countries. There have been no other admittances since 1995. Agreements are pending with the Eastern European nations of the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Estonia that should pave the way towards admittance. Union membership is open to any European country with stable democratic government, good human rights record, properly functioning market economy, and the macroeconomics fitness to fulfill the obligations of membership. Candidates must have the capacity to fulfill and implement EU laws and regulations. Enlargements deeper into Eastern Europe could potentially include Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Latvia. For a geographic representation of the Europes economic intigration existing from EU and potential members, see appendix D.THE EUROThe elected governments of the member states together created and developed the euro. The European Council adopted the name euro in Madrid in December 1995. The graphic symbol for the euro (right) looks like an E with two clearly marked, horizontal parallel lines across it. It was inspired by the Greek letter epsilon, in reference to the cradle of European civilization and to the first letter of the word "Europe". The parallel lines represent the stability of the euro. The official abbreviation for the euro is 'EUR'. It has been registered with the International Standards Organization (ISO), and is used for all business, financial and commercial purposes.The euro represents the consolidation and culmination of European economic integration. The euro zone is roughly comparable in economic weight to the United States. The population of the twelve member stat...
