Successive crop failures caused by bad weather bring mass famine to northern Europe, killing a significant share of the population.
The United States enacts a large-scale economic aid programme to rebuild Western European economies after the Second World War.
Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands sign the treaty creating the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European Union.
Euro cash enters circulation in twelve European Union countries, replacing national currencies such as the franc, the Deutsche Mark and the lira.