The basic principle, that lies behind the European integration is the conviction, that national and regional authorities need to be matched by independent, democratic European institutions with responsibility for those areas in which joint action is more effective than action by individual states: the single market, monetary policy, economic and social cohesion, foreign and security policy, employment policy, environmental protection, foreign and defense policy, the creation of an area of freedom and justice. The first step towards a united Europe was taken in 1950, when the foreign minister of France Schuman presented the so-called Schuman Plan. This plan provided a basis for the Treaty of Paris in 1951, which led to the creation of the European Steel and Coal Community. It created a common market in coal and steel between the six founding members – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg and the Netherlands. In 1957 the Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community a community built around the free movement of workers, goods and services. The success of the Six led Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom to join the EEC in 1973. The need for economic convergence and monetary union became apparent in the early 1970s when the United States of America suspended dollar convertibility. This marked the beginning of a period of worldwide monetary instability, which had been stabilized with the creation of a European Monetary System in 1979. The community expanded southwards with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The collapse of communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union transformed the political structure of Europe. The Member States, determined to strengthen their ties, negotiated a new Treaty, the main features of which were agreed at the Maastricht European Council in December 1991. The Treaty on European Union or the Maastricht Treaty, which entered into force on 1st of November 1993, set the Member States an ambitious program: monetary union by 1999, creation of euro, new common policies, European citizenship, a common foreign and security policy and internal security, enlargement of the Union. Inn 1993 also a single market was created. In 1995, Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the European Union. Enlargement is one of the most important opportunities for the European Union this time. It is a unique historic task to further the integration of the continent by the peaceful means, extending a zone of stability and prosperity to new members. Cooperation with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe started soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In the same year the Phare Program was created, that provides financial support for the countries´ efforts to rebuilt and reform their economies. During the 1990s the European Union concluded the so-called Europe Agreements, with ten countries of central Europe. They provide a basis for bilateral relations. These agreements were signed also with the Slovak Republic in 1993 and came into force in 1995. In 1993 at the Copenhagen Council, it was decided, that associated countries of central and Eastern Europe can become members of the EU and designed the membership criteria which are often referred to as the Copenhagen Criteria. In order to join the EU each candidate country has to achieve the following:
- stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities
- existence of a functioning market economy, as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union