On 14 February 2000, in Brussels, Jaime Gama, Portuguese Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Union, signs the official document which marks the opening of the 2000 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC).

Schedule for the meetings of the Conference of the representatives of the Governments of the Member States (Intergovernmental Conference - IGC) which started work on 14 February 2000, culminating on 10 December 2000 with the adoption of the draft Treaty of Nice.

The Treaty of Nice amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts is signed in Nice on 26 February 2001 and enters into force on 1 February 2003.

European Parliament resolution of 31 May 2001 incorporating Parliament’s opinion on the Treaty of Nice and the Declaration on the Future of Europe. The European Parliament notes that the Treaty of Nice removes the last remaining formal obstacle to enlargement but considers that a Union of 27 or more Member States requires more thoroughgoing reforms in order to guarantee democracy, effectiveness, transparency, clarity and governability.

Diagram showing the three-pillar structure of the European Union following the entry into force of the Nice Treaty on 1 February 2003.

Photograph taken during the signing ceremony of the Treaty of Nice on 26 February 2001.

Pages showing the signatures to the Treaty of Nice (26 February 2001).

Summary of the Treaty of Nice, published in January 2001 by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission.

On the eve of the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice on 1 February 2003, the European Commission publishes a summary of the main changes introduced by the new Treaty.