Explore the Tumultuous History of the European Union on Its 60th Anniversary

In September of 1946, a little over a year after the end of World War II, Former U.K. Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered an impassioned speech in Zurich, arguing for a “united states of Europe.”

"If Europe were once united in the sharing of its common inheritance there would be no limit to the happiness, prosperity, and glory which its 300 million or 400 million people would enjoy,” he said.

Churchill reinforced that this union would support and work with existing international organizations, such as the United Nations.

“What is this sovereign remedy? It is to recreate the European fabric, or as much of it as we can, and to provide it with a structure under which it can dwell in peace, safety, and freedom,” he said.

The signing of this treaty is what we now celebrate as the founding of the European Union, though at that time it was not given that name and functioned more specifically as a trade organization.

This treaty established the European Economic Community (EEC), which created a common market and set out the goal of creating an "ever closer union." Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands served as the six initial signatories of this original treaty.

This agreement set up an inter-governmental entity more closely resembling the EU as it stands today. Member states signed a treaty that merged three communities, replacing them with a single commission and a single board of council members. From then on, the entire entity became known as the European Community (EC).

After much debate concerning the U.K.’s desire to join the EC — as well as France’s will to allow them in — Great Britain joined Ireland and Denmark in becoming members of the community.

Four years later, the first direct elections to European Parliament would take place.

After European Parliament established the European Union in 1984, continuing in the goal of “forging an ever closer union,” authorities unveiled its flag in 1986.

The blue flag with a circle of 12 gold stars is meant to represent the "ideals of unity, solidarity, and harmony," according to the European Commission.

The Berlin Wall separating east and west Germany fell in 1989, leading to the reunification of the two regions in 1990, and subsequently enlarging the EU.

This agreement created European citizenship and began to pave the way for the freedom of movement that most people who have resided or visited Europe in the past 20 years take for granted. It allowed residents of any EU member state to live, work, and study in any other EU member state without needing a visa.

The Maastricht laid the foundation for the later Schengen Agreement that essentially erased borders between member states (the U.K. opted out of both of these pacts).

The EU established the euro currency during this period, replacing and phasing out local currencies throughout 12 participating countries.

Scotland held a referendum to decide whether to remain part of the U.K. or to become its own sovereign nation, and the remain camp won by a margin of nearly 400,000 votes, according to the BBC.

As part of the agreement to remain in the U.K., British parliament promised Scotland more authority for Scottish parliament as well as increased sovereignty concerning welfare and tax programs.

More than 1 million people fled their native countries in the Middle East and North Africa in 2015, seeking refuge on the shores of Europe. The vast majority of the people who fled places like Syria and Eritrea are considered bona fide refugees under the U.N. definition provided in 1951.

The sheer number of asylum-seekers in 2015 put a strain on various countries’ infrastructure, particularly in so-called first arrival countries such as Greece and Italy. As hundreds of thousands of people attempted to walk to northern European countries to seek asylum in Germany or the U.K., the principles of freedom of movement were thrown into question when some eastern nations including Hungary and Slovenia erected border fences attempting to prevent asylum-seekers from crossing.

In July 2015, the Greek people voted against further austerity measures such as capital controls and higher taxes in a referendum that came to be known as the “oxi” vote, meaning “no” in Greek.

Many European leaders considered the high level of Greek debt a threat to the euro currency as a whole and discussed whether the country should leave the union for the sake of the rest of the member states. Greece's debt load has continued to plague the country and the EU into 2017, with talks of a Grexit renewing.

U.K. nationals voted to leave the EU in a landmark vote in June that surprised much of the global community and caused major uncertainty in international markets.

Many of those who voted to leave cited their longing for more national sovereignty as well as a desire to stop paying high EU membership fees.