Portrait of Paul-Henri Spaak

2004 European elections

Elections for the European parliament take place in 25 member states. The centre-right EPP-ED win 37% of the 736 seats.

Josep Borrell

Josep Borrell served as President of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2007.

Eastern enlargement

Ten countries, mostly from Eastern Europe, join the EU in the largest enlargement so far: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Hans-Gert Pöttering

Hans-Gert Pöttering served as President of the European Parliament from 2007 to 2009.

Acquisition programme

Acquisition programme of works of art from Cyprus, Czechia and Estonia following the Bureau decision from 13 December 2006

Enlargement: Bulgaria, Romania

Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.

Acquisition programme of works of art from Hungary and Latvia following the Bureau decision from 13 December 2006.

2009 European elections

In the seventh European elections voters from 27 countries elect 736 MEPs. The centre-right EPP retains its majority, taking about 36% of the seats, followed by the Socialists and Democrats with 25% and Liberals with 11%.

Jerzy Buzek

Jerzy Buzek served as President of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2012.

Acquisition programme

Acquisition programme of works of art from Poland and Lithuania following the Bureau decision from 13 December 2006

Lisbon Treaty

The Treaty of Lisbon completes the institutional reform of the EU and makes the Charter of Fundamental rights legally binding. The Parliament is put on an equal decision-making footing with EU governments in all but a few legal areas.

Acquisition programme of works of art from Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta following the Bureau decision from 13 December 2006

Acquisition programme

Acquisition programme of works of art from Bulgaria and Romania following the Bureau decision from 13 December 2006

(…) artistic trades constitute one of the pillars on which our cultural heritage and our economy rest (…) their continuity must therefore be safeguarded by means of appropriate mechanisms for passing on knowledge and skills, as emphasised in Parliament’s resolution of 10 April 2008 on cultural industries in Europe (…)

European Parliament resolution of 12 May 2011 on unlocking the potential of cultural and creative industries (2010/2156(INI))

Establishment of a temporary rotating exhibition to mark rotating EU presidencies, starting from January 2011 (…)

The exhibition would be organised by a rotating system following the changing of the EU presidencies. Every six months, the Artistic Committee would decide on a selection of 8 to 10 works of art from the Member State concerned(…) GEDA D (2010) 41679

Martin Schulz

Martin Schulz served as President of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2017.

Art@Europarl

The Art@Europarl exhibition presents a small selection of 27 works, mostly paintings, by artists from 27 EU countries at the Parlamentarium, the Parliament’s visitors center. It’s the first time that the general public has direct access to part of the collection.

The European Union gets Nobel Peace Prize

The EU is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo for the contribution of Europeans to peace and reconciliation.

Acquisition programme

Acquisition programme of works of art from Croatia following the Bureau decision from 13 December 2006.

Enlargement Croatia

Croatia becomes the 28th member of the EU and newly-elected Croatian MEPs take their seats in the European Parliament.

Brexit referendum

UK voters decide to support leaving the European Union in a closely-fought referendum called by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The outcome of the referendum triggers the resignation of Cameron. His successor Theresa May pledges to take the UK out of the EU and initiates the process on 29 March 2017.

Antonio Tajani

Antonio Tajani served as President of the European Parliament from 2017 to 2019.

David Sassoli

David Sassoli served as President of the European Parliament from 2019 to 2022.

Value of culture

(…) the intrinsic value of culture and of artistic expression should always be preserved and promoted and that artistic creation is at the heart of cooperation projects. European Parliament legislative resolution of 28 March 2019 on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Creative Europe programme (2021 to 2027) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 (COM(2018)0366 – C8 0237/2018 – 2018/0190(COD))

2019 European elections

The European elections in May 2019 see about 51% of EU voters go to the polls, the highest turnout in 20 years. The centre-right European People’s Party and centre-left Social Democrats lose seats but remain the two largest groups in Parliament, while other centrist and liberal parties make gains.

Brexit

After the European Parliament ratified the withdrawal agreement on 29 January, the UK leaves the EU about three and a half years after voters supported the move in a referendum.

As of 1 February, the number of EU member states is 27 and the term of office of UK MEPs ends. The number of MEPs is 705 (previously 751), as some of the UK seats are allocated to existing member states to reflect demographic changes, while others are kept in reserve for when another country joins the EU.

Acquisition programme of works of art from Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden following the Bureau decision from 25 November 2019

European Year of Youth 2022

2022 is the European Year of Youth! A perfect opportunity to highlight the European youth’s important role in shaping a greener, more inclusive and digital future.

Acquisition programme of works of art from Czechia, Italy, Malta and Slovakia following the Bureau decision from 25 November 2019

Roberta Metsola

Roberta Metsola serves as President of the European Parliament since January 2022

Croatia joins the euro area

Croatia is the 20^th country to join the euro area, replacing the kuna with the euro as its currency. In order to be part of the euro area, a country has to fulfill a set of economic conditions, which include having a stable exchange rate and a low inflation rate. Seven EU countries still use their national currencies: Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.

Acquisition programme of works of art from Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Romania and The Netherlands following the Bureau decision from 25 November 2019

Acquisition programme of works of art from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia and Finland following the Bureau decision from 25 November 2019

European elections

The 2024 European Parliament election took place from 6 to 9 June 2024. This was the tenth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979, and the first European Parliament election after Brexit.