It was established on 17 April 2011, bringing together more than 30 unionist NGOs from Romania, Moldova, the United States and several other European countries.

Action 2012 takes its name from the year 2012, which marked the 200th anniversary of the annexation of Bessarabia by the Russian Empire away from the Romanian principality of Moldavia.

[6] On 10 February 2015, by the initiative of Action 2012, the Friends of the Union Parliamentary Group (Grupul Parlamentar Prietenii Unirii) was created.

[8] Furthermore, in 2016, Action 2012 coordinated the project Know Your Country (Cunoaște-ți Țara), which aimed to take 100,000 Moldovans on trips to Romania in the summer and fall of that year.

During these protests, on 14 May 2015, Simion was expelled from Moldova and banned from entering the country for 5 years for "endangering national security" through his activities; the Romanian embassy in Chișinău asked the Moldovan authorities for explanations on this decision.