23 January – Following the Parliament's vote of approval on 18 January, the representatives of the governments of the Member States appoint the President and Members of the European Commission for a five-year term.
25 January – The Commission adopts the second part of the Green Paper on the liberalisation of telecommunications infrastructure and cable television networks.
23 February – Bordessa ruling. The European Court of Justice decrees that citizens may export banknotes, coins and cheques without previous authorisation.
25–26 February – The G7 Ministerial Conference on Information Society is held in Brussels.
10 April – The Council adopts a report on the functioning of the Treaty on the European Union in preparation for the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference.
21 April – The Committee of the Regions adopts an own-initiative opinion on preparations for the 1996 Intergovernmental Conference.
3 May – The Commission approves the Info 2000 programme to stimulate the development of a European multimedia content industry in the emerging information society.
3–10 May – The Commission adopts a White Paper on preparing the associated countries of Central and Eastern Europe for integration into the European Union internal Market.
22 June – Romania applies to join the European Union. The Snagov Declaration had been signed the day earlier by the leaders of the Romanian parliamentary parties at the time to commit to Romania's accession to the EU.
26–27 June – A European Council is held in Cannes, France. An overall agreement on external financing including financing arrangements for the eight European Development Fund (EDF) for Africa, Caribbean Pacific (ACP) States is reached. The transition to a single currency by 1 January 1999 is confirmed.
1 July – Spain takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
12 July – The European Parliament appoints Jacob Söderman, a Finn, as Ombudsman of the European Union.
17 July – An interim agreement with Russia, a Euro-Mediterranean agreement with Tunisia and a cooperation agreement with Vietnam are signed.
19 July – The Commission adopts a Green Paper on copyright and related rights in information society and on "utility models" (legal protection of intellectual property).
13 October – Latvia formally applies to join the European Union.
17 October – Kalanke ruling. The European Court of Justice considers that a measure guaranteeing automatic priority to women in promotions is beyond the equality of treatment between women and men principle and is thus discriminatory based on gender.
8 December – Lithuania formally applies to join the European Union.
13 December – The Commission adopts a White Paper on energy policy for the European Union.
14 December – The Dayton peace agreement for Former Yugoslavia is signed in Paris. Bulgaria formally applies to join the European Union.
15 December – Bosman ruling. The European Court of Justice decrees that football federation rules restricting the number of foreign players in football teams and those relative to players' transfers are contrary to Community law.
15–16 December – A European Council is held in Madrid, Spain. It sets March 29, 1996 as the starting date for the Intergovernmental Conference and confirms the introduction of the single currency ("euro") for January 1, 1999.
20–21 December – The European Commission and the World Bank organise a meeting in Brussels of donor countries and organisations for the reconstruction of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year, during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension.