Treaty of Accession 1972

Treaty concerning the accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community

Treaty of Accession 1972 Treaty between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the French Republic, the Italian Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Member States of the European Communities) the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland concerning the accession of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the European Economic Community and to the European Atomic Energy Community.
Countries involved in the treaty, with newly joining countries in yellow, countries who failed to join in red, and existing EC countries in blue.
Signed	22 January 1972
Location	Brussels, Belgium
Effective	1 January 1973
Condition	Ratification by Denmark, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom and all 6 Member States of the European Communities
Signatories	European Communities (6 members)  Denmark  Ireland  United Kingdom (left the EU in 2020)  Norway (did not ratify)
Ratifiers	9 / 10
Depositary	Government of the Italian Republic
Languages	All 4 official Languages of the European Communities, Danish, English, Irish and Norwegian

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Part of a series of articles on
UK membership of the European Union (1973–2020)
Accession Treaty of Accession 1972 1972 EC Act 1973 enlargement of the EC
1975 referendum Referendum Act (results)
Treaty amendments Single European Act, 1986 (UK ratification) Maastricht Treaty, 1992 (UK ratification) Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997 (UK ratification) Treaty of Nice, 2001 (UK ratification) Treaty of Lisbon, 2007 (UK ratification) Related: 2011 UK Act on new EU Treaty amendments EU-related British Acts Proposed European Constitution referendum European Union Bill 2004–2005
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The Treaty of Accession 1972 was the international agreement which provided for the accession of Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom to the European Communities. Norway did not ratify the treaty after it was rejected in a referendum held in September 1972. The treaty was ratified by Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom who became EC member states on 1 January 1973 when the treaty entered into force. The treaty remains an integral part of the constitutional basis of the European Union.

On the 31 January 2020 the United Kingdom left the European Union after 47 years of membership after a referendum was held in 2016 which saw 51.9% of voters wish to leave the bloc, and is now no longer legally bound by the treaty.