 Louis Armand led the first Commission of Euratom. Walter Hallstein led the first Commission of the EEC, holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the Château of Val-Duchesse. It achieved agreement on a contentious cereal price accord as well as making a positive impression upon third countries when it made its international debut at the Kennedy Round of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations. Hallstein notably began the consolidation of European law and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. Little heed was taken of his administration at first but, with help from the European Court of Justice, his Commission stamped its authority solidly enough to allow future Commissions to be taken more seriously. However, in 1965 accumulating differences between the French government of Charles de Gaulle and the other member states (over British entry, direct elections to Parliament, the Fouchet Plan and the budget) triggered the "empty chair" crisis ostensibly over proposals for the common agricultural policy. Although the institutional crisis was solved the following year, it cost Etienne Hirsch his presidency of Euratom and later Walter Hallstein the EEC presidency despite otherwise being viewed as the most 'dynamic' leader until Jacques Delors.
