30 years together

30 years of EU membership

Thirty years ago, we welcomed three new members into our EU family.

Austria
Finland
Sweden

On 1 January 1995, they made the European Union their home. The European Union then grew from 12 to 15 countries. Together, we became a greater political, economic and cultural community.

Europe has made Austria, Sweden and Finland stronger. And our Union has changed for the better, thanks to Finland, Austria and Sweden.

How this enlargement has positively changed the EU

We have all seen positive changes in the past thirty years.

More citizens have enjoyed freedom of movement across a larger Union.
Opportunities for people and business have grown.
Economies have benefited significantly from the growing Single Market, creating more jobs and greater trade ties along the way.
Both democracy and security have been reinforced.
The quality of people’s lives has become better.
Citizens have gained more rights and freedoms.
Knowledge, culture and arts have been further enriched.
Environmental and climate protection causes has been championed even further over the past thirty years.

550,000
EU citizens have studied in universities and tertiary schools across Austria, Finland and Sweden thanks to the Erasmus+ programme
€287 billion
of exports from the three countries to the EU in 2023 alone
34,000
EU-funded research projects in the three countries, leading to breakthroughs and innovations that benefit all EU citizens