15 July 1964 | Costa/ENEL ruling. A groundbreaking case that established the principle of primacy of EU law over the laws of member states. Or how an unpaid electricity bill led to one of the key principles of EU law. ⚡️In 1962, Italy passed a law nationalising the electricity

15 July 1994 | EU countries designate Jacques Santer as president of European Commission. 🗣️ "To do less, but do it better" was the motto 🎯 Jacques Santer was not the preference for the Commission presidency. Jean-Luc Dehaene was vetoed by the UK's John Major due to concerns he

15 July 2014 | The European Parliament elects Juncker as President of the European Commission. 422 votes in favour, 250 against. "There is not enough Europe in this Union. And there is not enough Union in this Union" 🗳️ Juncker was EPP lead candidate in 2014 EU elections and, to date,

16 July 2019 | The European Parliament elects Ursula Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission. 👱‍♀️The first woman to become President of the European Commission. 🌎 von der Leyen declared her intention to lead a "geopolitical Commission." A shift towards a more assertive role

16 July 1990| Malta formally applies to join the EU The application had to be temporarily halted in 1996, when a change in government resulted in a change of political direction. In 1998, it was reactivated and Malta joined the EU in 2004 #EUHistory 🇪🇺🇲🇹 #OnThisDay EU Commission Malta

16-17 July 1975 | EU leaders open the door to the election of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage during #EUCO in Brussels. It finally happened in the 1979 elections. They also discussed the possibility of an EU passport. #EUHistory 🇪🇺 #OnThisDay

17-20 July 1979 | Simone Veil is elected President of the European Parliament during the first mini-session of the first directly elected European Parliament. #EUHistory 🇪🇺 #OnThisDay

17 July 1989 | Austria formally applies to join the European Community. Austria, one of the founding members of EFTA -the European Free Trade Area- joined the EU in 1995. 📹Alois Mock, Austrian Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs. #EUHistory 🇪🇺🇦🇹 #OnThisDay EU-Kommission Wien

17 July 2018 | EU and Japan sign a trade deal 🇪🇺🇯🇵. The biggest ever negotiated by the EU, creating the world's largest open economic area. A powerful message in defence of open, fair and rules-based trade. 📹Shinzo Abe Donald Tusk and Juncker #EUHistory EU Trade 🇪🇺

18 July 1961 | 🇧🇪🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹🇱🇺🇳🇱 express their wish to set up a political union during the 'Bonn Summit'. 🇪🇺 Prior to this, European integration had primarily focused on economic aspects (European Coal and Steel Community, EEC, Euratom). This summit marked a significant moment where

19-26 July 1994 | The new European Parliament elects Mr. Klaus Hänsch as its President. He served as President of the European Parliament until 1997. #EUHistory 🇪🇺#OnThisDay

20 July 2004 | The European Parliament elects Josep Borrell Fontelles as its President. The third Spanish 🇪🇸 politician to hold the position, after Enrique Barón and José María Gil-Robles. He led the EP until 2007. #EUHistory 🇪🇺 #OnThisDay

20 July 1999 | The European Parliament elects Nicole Fontaine as its President. She led the EP from 1999 to 2002. The 2nd woman in history to hold that position. She oversaw the adoption of the euro, focused on a 'EU for citizens' and signed the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the

reuwind Oberschwaben European Parliament Yes, confirmed: On July 20, 1999, Nicole Fontaine won the European Parliament presidency with 306 votes, defeating Mário Soares (200 votes) and Heidi Hautala in a fair election. Multiple candidates, including men, competed. Sources: Europarl verbatim records, Wikipedia.