Greece joined what is now the European Union on 1 January 1981, when it acceded to the European Economic Community (EEC).

Key date

  • Official accession date: 1 January 1981, as the 10th member of the European Communities (then the EEC, today the EU).
  • The Accession Treaty was signed in Athens in May 1979 and entered into force at the start of 1981.

Short context

  • Greece applied for full EEC membership in 1975, shortly after the restoration of democracy.
  • Negotiations ran from 1976 until 1979; the political goal was to anchor Greece’s new democratic system in Western Europe and support economic development.

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