50 Road Maps of Europe

The European Union traces its origins back to the European Coal & Steel Community, which was created by the Treaty of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957. This page shows one map cover from a member state for each of the 50 years. Up to 1976, there were only six members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. In 1973 the (then) European Economic Community was enlarged for the first time, expanding to include the UK, Ireland and Denmark. The maps below reflect only the membership in the year of the map, so most of the new member states (from 2004) are excluded. They are also restricted to maps from brands headquartered in the EU at the relevant time, so leading US brands (Esso, Caltex, Mobil, Gulf, etc.) are ineligible, as are Norway's Hydro and Statoil.

1957	1958	1959	1960	1961

1962	1963	1964	1965	1966

1967	1968	1969	1970	1971

1972	1973	1974	1975	1976

1977	1978	1979	1980	1981

1982	1983	1984	1985	1986

1987	1988	1989	1990	1991

1992	1993	1994	1995	1996

1997	1998	1999	2000	2001

2002	2003	2004	2005	2006

Most of the maps above are from petrol companies, but there are three LPG issues (1982 - Calor, 1984 - VIFF and 1994 - BK), two lubricant issues (1968 - Motul and 1989 - BP Visco) and two aimed at truckers (1971 French Gasoil and 1979 European atlas, both from Shell). Most are sheet maps, but there are some atlas or station location booklets with maps: 1963 Azur, 1968 Motul, 1979 Euroshell, 1987 Campsa Guide, 1989 BP, 1996 Preem and 2003 Metax). Two are joint issues with non-petrol companies: 1977 BP (with Trafalgar Tours) and 1986 MonteShell (with Hertz rentacar and Europ Assistance).