Treaty of Rome - Razor Robotics Treaty of Rome For other uses, see Treaty of Rome (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Treaty of Rome Treaty establishing the European Economic Community The signing ceremony of the Treaty at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill Type Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy Effective German, French, Italian and Dutch (original version) The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community at Wikisource The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (TEEC), is an international agreement that led to the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany and came into force on 1 January 1958. It remains one of the two most important treaties in the modern-day European Union (EU). The TEEC proposed the progressive reduction of customs duties and the establishment of a customs union.

It proposed to create a single market for goods, labour, services, and capital across the EEC's member states. It also proposed the creation of common transport and agriculture policies and a European social fund and established the European Commission. Since its signature, the treaty's name has been retrospectively amended on several occasions. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 removed the word "economic" from the Treaty of Rome's official title and, in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon renamed it the "Treaty on the functioning of the European Union". Background Main article: History of the European Union Treaty of Paris and the ECSC In 1951, the Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The Treaty of Paris was an international treaty based on international law, designed to help reconstruct the economies of the European continent, prevent war in Europe and ensure a lasting peace. The original idea was conceived by Jean Monnet, a senior French civil servant and it was announced by Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister, in a declaration on 9 May 1950.

The aim was to pool Franco-West German coal and steel production, as the two raw materials were the basis of the industry (including war industry) and power of the two countries. The proposed plan was that Franco-West German coal and steel production would be placed under a common High Authority within the framework of an organisation that would be open for participation to other European countries. The underlying political objective of the European Coal and Steel Community was to strengthen Franco-German cooperation and banish the possibility of war. Modern-day view of the Palazzo dei Conservatori (today the Capitoline Museums) where the treaty was signed in 1957 France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands began negotiating the treaty. The Treaty Establishing the ECSC was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951 and entered into force on 24 July 1952. The Treaty expired on 23 July 2002, after fifty years, as was foreseen. The common market opened on 10 February 1953 for coal, iron ore and scrap, on 1 May 1953 for steel.

Partly in the aim of creating a United States of Europe, two further communities were proposed, again by the French. A European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Political Community (EPC). While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the French Parliament. President Jean Monnet, a leading figure behind the communities, resigned from the High Authority in protest and began work on alternative communities, based on economic integration rather than political integration. As a result of the energy crises, the Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of the ECSC to cover other sources of energy. However, Monnet desired a separate community to cover nuclear power, and Louis Armand was put in charge of a study into the prospects of nuclear energy use in Europe. The report concluded further nuclear development was needed to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. However, the Benelux states and West Germany were also keen on creating a general common market, but it was opposed by France due to its protectionism and Monnet thought it too large and difficult a task. In the end, Monnet proposed creating both as separate communities to attempt to satisfy all interests.

As a result of the Messina Conference of 1955, Paul-Henri Spaak was appointed as chairman of a preparatory committee, the Spaak Committee, charged with the preparation of a report on the creation of a common European market. History Move towards a Single Market The audience chamber at the Palazzo dei Conservatori where the treaty was signed The Spaak Report drawn up by the Spaak Committee provided the basis for further progress and was accepted at the Venice Conference (29 and 30 May 1956) where the decision was taken to organise an Intergovernmental Conference. The report formed the cornerstone of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at Val Duchesse in 1956. The outcome of the conference was that new communities would share the Common Assembly (now the Parliamentary Assembly) with the ECSC, as it would with the Court of Justice. However, they would not share the ECSC's Council of High Authority. The two new High Authorities would be called Commissions, from a reduction in their powers.

France was reluctant to agree to more supranational powers and so the new Commissions would have only basic powers, and important decisions would have to be approved by the Council, which now adopted majority voting. The latter body fostered co-operation in the nuclear field, at the time a very popular area, and the EEC was to create a full customs union between members. Signature of the Treaty of Rome The signature page on the original Treaty of Rome The conference led to the signature, on 25 March 1957, of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and the Euratom Treaty at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill in Rome. In March 2007, the BBC's Today radio programme reported that delays in printing the treaty meant that the document signed by the European leaders as the Treaty of Rome consisted of blank pages between its frontispiece and page for the signatures. Signatories Joseph Luns · J. Linthorst Homan Netherlands Renamings and amendments The Treaty of Rome, the original full name of which was the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community has been amended by successive treaties significantly changing its content.

The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht established the European Union with the EEC becoming one of its three pillars, the European Community. Hence, the treaty was renamed the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). When the Treaty of Lisbon came into force in 2009 the pillar system was abandoned, and hence the EC ceased to exist as a legal entity separate from the EU. This led to the treaty being amended and renamed as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). In March 2011 the European Council adopted a decision to amend the Treaty by the adding a new paragraph to Article 136. The additional paragraph, which enables the establishment of a financial stability mechanism for the Eurozone, runs as follows: The Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality. For details of the content of the treaty as it stands after 2009, see Treaties of the European Union#Treaty on the functioning of the European Union.

Historical assessment According to the historian Tony Judt, the Treaty of Rome did not represent a fundamental turning point in the history of European integration: It is important not to overstate the importance of the Rome Treaty. It represented for the most part a declaration of future good intentions...Most of the text constituted a framework for instituting procedures designed to establish and enforce future regulations. The only truly significant innovation – the setting up under Article 177 of a European Court of Justice to which national courts would submit cases for final adjudication – would prove immensely important in later decades but passed largely unnoticed at the time. Anniversary commemorations West German 10 Mark 1987 Silver Coin 30 Years Treaty of Rome Major anniversaries of the singing of the Treaty of Rome have been commemorated in numerous ways. Commemorative coins have been struck by numerous European countries, notably at the 30th and 50th anniversaries (1987 and 2007 respectively).

European Union (EU) | European organization | Britannica.com European organization Alternative Titles: EU, Europäische Union, Union Européenne, Unione Europea Related Topics France European Union (EU), international organization comprising 28 European countries and governing common economic, social, and security policies. Originally confined to western Europe , the EU undertook a robust expansion into central and eastern Europe in the early 21st century. The EU’s members are Austria , Belgium , Bulgaria , Croatia , Cyprus , the Czech Republic , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , the Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Slovakia , Slovenia , Spain , Sweden , and the United Kingdom . The EU was created by the Maastricht Treaty , which entered into force on November 1, 1993. The treaty was designed to enhance European political and economic integration by creating a single currency (the euro ), a unified foreign and security policy, and common citizenship rights and by advancing cooperation in the areas of immigration, asylum, and judicial affairs.

The EU was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2012, in recognition of the organization’s efforts to promote peace and democracy in Europe. Flag of the European Union. Composition of the European Union. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. An overview of the European Union’s history. © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner) Origins The EU represents one in a series of efforts to integrate Europe since World War II . At the end of the war, several western European countries sought closer economic, social, and political ties to achieve economic growth and military security and to promote a lasting reconciliation between France and Germany. To this end, in 1951 the leaders of six countries—Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany—signed the Treaty of Paris , thereby, when it took effect in 1952, founding the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).

(The United Kingdom had been invited to join the ECSC and in 1955 sent a representative to observe discussions about its ongoing development, but the Labour government of Clement Attlee declined membership, owing perhaps to a variety of factors, including the illness of key ministers, a desire to maintain economic independence, and a failure to grasp the community’s impending significance.) The ECSC created a free-trade area for several key economic and military resources: coal, coke, steel, scrap, and iron ore. To manage the ECSC, the treaty established several supranational institutions: a High Authority to administrate, a Council of Ministers to legislate, a Common Assembly to formulate policy, and a Court of Justice to interpret the treaty and to resolve related disputes. A series of further international treaties and treaty revisions based largely on this model led eventually to the creation of the EU. Creation of the European Economic Community Similar Topics League of Nations On March 25, 1957, the six ECSC members signed the two Treaties of Rome that established the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)—which was designed to facilitate cooperation in atomic energy development, research, and utilization—and the European Economic Community (EEC).

The EEC created a common market that featured the elimination of most barriers to the movement of goods, services, capital, and labour, the prohibition of most public policies or private agreements that inhibit market competition, a common agricultural policy (CAP), and a common external trade policy. Signing of the Treaty of Rome, March 25, 1957. AP Images The treaty establishing the EEC required members to eliminate or revise important national laws and regulations. In particular, it fundamentally reformed tariff and trade policy by abolishing all internal tariffs by July 1968. It also required that governments eliminate national regulations favouring domestic industries and cooperate in areas in which they traditionally had acted independently, such as international trade (i.e., trade with countries outside the EEC). The treaty called for common rules on anticompetitive and monopolistic behaviour and for common inland transportation and regulatory standards. Recognizing social policy as a fundamental component of economic integration , the treaty also created the European Social Fund, which was designed to enhance job opportunities by facilitating workers’ geographic and occupational mobility. Map showing the composition of the European Economic Community (EEC) from 1957, when it was formed … Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ringling Bros. Folds Its Tent Significantly, the treaty’s common market reforms did not extend to agriculture. The CAP, which was implemented in 1962 and which became the costliest and most controversial element of the EEC and later the EU, relied on state intervention to protect the living standards of farmers, to promote agricultural self-sufficiency, and to ensure a reliable supply of products at reasonable prices. British Culture and Politics Like the ECSC, the EEC established four major governing institutions: a commission, a ministerial council, an assembly, and a court. To advise the Commission and the Council of Ministers on a broad range of social and economic policies, the treaty created an Economic and Social Committee. In 1965 members of the EEC signed the Brussels Treaty , which merged the commissions of the EEC and Euratom and the High Authority of the ECSC into a single commission. It also combined the councils of the three organizations into a common Council of Ministers. The EEC, Euratom, and the ECSC—collectively referred to as the European Communities—later became the principal institutions of the EU. The Commission (officially known as the European Commission ) consists of a permanent civil service directed by commissioners.

It has had three primary functions: to formulate community policies, to monitor compliance with community decisions, and to oversee the execution of community law. Initially, commissioners were appointed by members to renewable four-year terms, which were later extended to five years. The Commission is headed by a president, who is selected by the heads of state or heads of government of the organization’s members. In consultation with member governments, the president appoints the heads of the Directorate-Generals, which manage specific areas such as agriculture, competition, the environment , and regional policy. The Commission has shared its agenda-setting role with the European Council (not to be confused with the Council of Europe , an organization that is not an EU body), which consists of the leaders of all member countries. Established in 1974, the European Council meets at least twice a year to define the long-term agenda for European political and economic integration. The European Council is led by a president, an office that originally rotated among the heads of state or heads of government of member countries every six months. Upon the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, the presidency was made permanent, with the officeholder being selected by European Council members.

The president of the European Council serves a term of two and a half years—renewable once—and functions as the “face” of the EU in policy matters. The first “president of the EU,” as the office came to be known, was former Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy . Connect with Britannica Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Pinterest The main decision-making institution of the EEC and the European Community (as the EEC was renamed in 1993) and the EU has been the Council of the European Union (originally the Council of Ministers), which consists of ministerial representatives. The composition of the council changes frequently, as governments send different representatives depending on the policy area under discussion. All community legislation requires the approval of the council. The president of the council, whose office rotates among council members every six months, manages the legislative agenda. Council meetings are chaired by a minister from the country that currently holds the presidency. The exception to this rule is the Foreign Affairs Council, which, since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, is under the permanent supervision of the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. The Common Assembly, renamed the European Parliament in 1962, originally consisted of delegates from national parliaments.

Beginning in 1979, members were elected directly to five-year terms. The size of members’ delegations varies depending on population. The Parliament is organized into transnational party groups based on political ideology—e.g., the Party of European Socialists , the European People’s Party , the European Federation of Green Parties, and the European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Party . Until 1987 the legislature served only as a consultative body, though in 1970 it was given joint decision-making power (with the Council of Ministers) over community expenditures. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) interprets community law, settles conflicts between the organization’s institutions, and determines whether members have fulfilled their treaty obligations. Each member selects one judge, who serves a renewable six-year term; to increase efficiency , after the accession of 10 additional countries in 2004 the ECJ was allowed to sit in a “grand chamber” of only 13 judges. Eight impartial advocates-general assist the ECJ by presenting opinions on cases before the court. In 1989 an additional court, the Court of First Instance, was established to assist with the community’s increasing caseload.

The ECJ has established two important legal doctrines. First, European law has “direct effect,” which means that treaty provisions and legislation are directly binding on individual citizens, regardless of whether their governments have modified national laws accordingly. Second, community law has “supremacy” over national law in cases where the two conflict. The promulgation of the Lisbon Treaty signaled the acceptance of these legal doctrines by national courts, and the ECJ has acquired a supranational legal authority. Britannica Lists & Quizzes Editor Picks: Exploring 10 Types of Basketball Movies Throughout the 1970s and ’80s the EEC gradually expanded both its membership and its scope. In 1973 the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Ireland were admitted, followed by Greece in 1981 and Portugal and Spain in 1986. (The United Kingdom had applied for membership in the EEC in 1963 and in 1966, but its application was vetoed by French Pres.

Charles de Gaulle.) The community’s common external trade policy generated pressure for common foreign and development policies, and in the early 1970s the European Political Cooperation (EPC; renamed the Common Foreign and Security Policy by the Maastricht Treaty), consisting of regular meetings of the foreign ministers of each country, was established to coordinate foreign policy. In 1975 the European Regional Development Fund was created to address regional economic disparities and to provide additional resources to Europe’s most deprived areas. In the same year, members endorsed the Lomé Convention , a development-assistance package and preferential-trade agreement with numerous African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. Members also made several attempts to manage their exchange rates collectively, resulting in the establishment of the European Monetary System in 1979. Single European Act The Single European Act (SEA), which entered into force on July 1, 1987, significantly expanded the EEC’s scope. It gave the meetings of the EPC a legal basis, and it called for more intensive coordination of foreign policy among members, though foreign policy decisions were made outside community institutions.

The agreement brought the European Regional Development Fund formally into the community’s treaties as part of a new section on economic and social cohesion that aimed to encourage the development of economically depressed areas. As a result of the act, there was a substantial increase in funding for social and regional programs. The SEA also required the community’s economic policies to incorporate provisions for the protection of the environment, and it provided for a common research and technological-development policy, which was aimed primarily at funding transnational research efforts. Trending Topics Opium Wars More generally, the SEA set out a timetable for the completion of a common market. A variety of legal, technical, fiscal, and physical barriers continued to limit the free movement of goods, labour, capital, and services. For example, differences in national health and safety standards for consumer goods were a potential impediment to trade. To facilitate the completion of the common market by 1992, the community’s legislative process was modified. Originally, the Commission proposed legislation, the Parliament was consulted, and the Council of Ministers made a final decision. The council’s decisions generally needed unanimity, a requirement that gave each member a veto over all legislation. The SEA introduced qualified majority voting for all legislation related to the completion of the common market.

Under this system, each member was given multiple votes, the number of which depended on national population, and approval of legislation required roughly two-thirds of the votes of all members. The new procedure also increased the role of the European Parliament. Specifically, legislative proposals that were rejected by the Parliament could be adopted by the Council of Ministers only by a unanimous vote. The Maastricht Treaty The Maastricht Treaty (formally known as the Treaty on European Union), which was signed on February 7, 1992, created the European Union. The treaty met with substantial resistance in some countries. In Denmark, for example, voters who were worried about infringements upon their country’s sovereignty defeated a referendum on the original treaty in June 1992, though a revised treaty was approved the following May. Voters in France narrowly approved the treaty in September, and in July 1993 British Prime Minister John Major was forced to call a vote of confidence in order to secure its passage. An amended version of the treaty officially took effect on November 1, 1993.

The treaty consisted of three main pillars: the European Communities , a common foreign and security policy, and enhanced cooperation in home (domestic) affairs and justice. The treaty changed the name of the European Economic Community to the European Community (EC), which became the primary component of the new European Union. The agreement gave the EC broader authority, including formal control of community policies on development, education, public health, and consumer protection and an increased role in environmental protection, social and economic cohesion, and technological research. It also established EU citizenship, which entailed the right of EU citizens to vote and to run for office in local and European Parliament elections in their country of residence, regardless of national citizenship. The Maastricht Treaty specified an agenda for incorporating monetary policy into the EC and formalized planning that had begun in the late 1980s to replace national currencies with a common currency managed by common monetary institutions. The treaty defined a set of “convergence criteria” that specified the conditions under which a member would qualify for participation in the common currency.

Countries were required to have annual budget deficits not exceeding 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), public debt under 60 percent of GDP, inflation rates within 1.5 percent of the three lowest inflation rates in the EU, and exchange-rate stability. The members that qualified were to decide whether to proceed to the final stage—the adoption of a single currency. The decision required the establishment of permanent exchange rates and, after a transition period, the replacement of national currencies with the common currency, called the euro. Although several countries failed to meet the convergence criteria (e.g., in Italy and Belgium public debt exceeded 120 percent of GDP), the Commission qualified nearly all members for monetary union, and on January 1, 1999, 11 countries—Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain—adopted the currency and relinquished control over their exchange rates. Greece failed to qualify, and Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom chose not to apply for membership. Greece was admitted to the euro beginning in 2001.

Initially used only by financial markets and businesses, the euro was introduced for use by the general public on January 1, 2002. The Maastricht Treaty significantly modified the EEC’s institutions and decision-making processes. The Commission was reformed to increase its accountability to the Parliament. Beginning in 1995, the term of office for commissioners, who now had to be approved by the Parliament, was lengthened to five years to correspond to the terms served by members of the Parliament. The ECJ was granted the authority to impose fines on members for noncompliance. Several new institutions were created, including the European Central Bank , the European System of Central Banks, and the European Monetary Institute. The treaty also created a regional committee, which served as an advisory body for commissioners and the Council of Ministers on issues relevant to subnational, regional, or local constituencies . One of the most radical changes was the reform of the legislative process. The range of policies subject to qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers was broadened. The treaty also endowed the Parliament with a limited right of rejection over legislation in most of the areas subject to qualified majority voting, and in a few areas, including citizenship, it was given veto power.

The treaty formally incorporated the Court of Auditors, which was created in the 1970s to monitor revenue and expenditures, into the EC. As part of the treaty’s second pillar, members undertook to define and implement common foreign and security policies. Members agreed that, where possible, they would adopt common defense policies, which would be implemented through the Western European Union , a security organization that includes many EU members. Joint actions—which were not subject to monitoring or enforcement by the Commission or the ECJ—required unanimity. The EU’s third pillar included several areas of common concern related to the free movement of people within the EU’s borders. The elimination of border controls conflicted with some national immigration, asylum, and residency policies and made it difficult to combat crime and to apply national civil codes uniformly, thus creating the need for new Europe-wide policies. For example, national asylum policies that treated third-country nationals differently could not, in practice, endure once people were allowed to move freely across national borders. Enlargement and post-Maastricht reforms On January 1, 1995, Sweden, Austria, and Finland joined the EU, leaving Iceland , Norway , and Switzerland as the only major western European countries outside the organization.

Norway’s government twice (1972 and 1994) attempted to join, but its voters rejected membership on each occasion. Switzerland tabled its application in the early 1990s. Norway, Iceland, and the members of the EU (along with Liechtenstein) are members of a free trade area called the European Economic Area , which allows freedom of movement for goods, services, capital, and people. Two subsequent treaties revised the policies and institutions of the EU. The first, the Treaty of Amsterdam , was signed in 1997 and entered into force on May 1, 1999. Building on the social protocol of the Maastricht Treaty, it identified as EU objectives the promotion of employment, improved living and working conditions, and proper social protection; added sex-discrimination protections and transferred asylum, immigration, and civil judicial policy to the community’s jurisdiction; granted the Council of Ministers the power to penalize members for serious violations of fundamental human rights; and gave the Parliament veto power over a broad range of EC policies as well as the power to reject the European Council’s nominee for president of the Commission.

A second treaty, the Treaty of Nice, was signed in 2001 and entered into force on February 1, 2003. Negotiated in preparation for the admission of new members from eastern Europe, it contained major reforms. The maximum number of seats on the Commission was set at 27, the number of commissioners appointed by members was made the same at one each, and the president of the Commission was given greater independence from national governments. Qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers was extended to several new areas. Approval of legislation by qualified voting required the support of members representing at least 62 percent of the EU population and either the support of a majority of members or a supermajority of votes cast. Although national vetoes remained in areas such as taxation and social policy, countries choosing to pursue further integration in limited areas were not precluded from doing so. After the end of Cold War , many of the former communist countries of eastern and central Europe applied for EU membership. However, their relative lack of economic development threatened to hinder their full integration into EU institutions.

To address this problem, the EU considered a stratified system under which subsets of countries would participate in some components of economic integration (e.g., a free trade area) but not in others (e.g., the single currency). Turkey , at the periphery of Europe, also applied for membership, though its application was controversial because it was a predominantly Islamic country, because it was widely accused of human rights violations, and because it had historically tense relations with Greece (especially over Cyprus). Despite opposition from those who feared that expansion of the EU would stifle consensus and inhibit the development of Europe-wide foreign and security policies, the EU in 2004 admitted 10 countries (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia), all but two of which (Cyprus and Malta) were former communist states; Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007. Negotiations on Turkey’s membership application began in 2005 but faced numerous difficulties. Composition of the European Union. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Building on the limited economic and political goals of the ECSC, the countries of western Europe have achieved an unprecedented level of integration and cooperation.

The degree of legal integration, supranational political authority, and economic integration in the EU greatly surpasses that of other international organizations. Indeed, although the EU has not replaced the nation-state, its institutions have increasingly resembled a parliamentary democratic political system at the supranational level. In 2002 the Convention on the Future of Europe, chaired by former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing , was established to draft a constitution for the enlarged EU. Among the most difficult problems confronting the framers of the document was how to distribute power within the EU between large and small members and how to adapt the organization’s institutions to accommodate a membership that would be more than four times larger than that of the original EEC. The framers also needed to balance the ideal of deeper integration against the goal of protecting members’ national traditions. The drafting process evoked considerable controversy, particularly over the question of whether the constitution should mention God and the Christian heritage of much of European society (the final version did not).

The proposed constitution was signed in 2004 but required ratification by all EU members to take effect; voters in France and the Netherlands rejected it in 2005, thereby scuttling the constitution at least in the short term. It would have created a full-time president, a European foreign minister, a public prosecutor, and a charter of fundamental rights. Under the constitution the powers of the European Parliament would have been greatly expanded and the EU given a “legal personality” that entailed the sole right to negotiate most treaties on its members’ behalf. Under the leadership of Germany, work began in early 2007 on a reform treaty intended to replace the failed constitution. The resulting Lisbon Treaty , signed in December 2007, required approval by all 27 EU member countries in order to take effect. The treaty, which retained portions of the draft constitution, would establish an EU presidency, consolidate foreign policy representation for the EU, and devolve additional powers to the European Commission, the European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament. Unlike the draft constitution, the Lisbon Treaty would amend rather than replace existing treaties.

The treaty failed, at least in the short term, in June 2008 after it was rejected by voters in a national referendum in Ireland. However, in a second referendum, in October 2009, Irish voters—apparently concerned that another “no” vote would imperil Ireland’s ailing economy—overwhelmingly approved the treaty. A week after the Irish vote, Poland completed its ratification of the treaty as well. At that time the treaty remained to be ratified by only one country, the Czech Republic. Although the Czech Parliament already had approved the treaty, Czech Pres. Václav Klaus expressed concern that it would threaten Czech sovereignty and refused to sign it. In early November, after the Czech Constitutional Court ruled that the treaty did not imperil the Czech constitution, Klaus reluctantly endorsed the document, completing the country’s ratification process. Having been approved by all 27 member countries, the treaty entered into force on December 1, 2009. Page 1 of 2 European Union - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up) The organization for the economic and political integration of Europe known as the European Union (EU) was officially created on November 1, 1993.

In practice, however, the union traces its origins back to 1950, and it has continued to grow in the 21st century. EU members are sovereign countries that have control over their own basic economic and political affairs, yet they have agreed to follow several EU laws and standards, including treaties regulating regional and world trade, the free movement of citizens within the EU, environmental regulations, and security and law enforcement agreements. Article Contributors Historic: Treaty of Rome, horoscope for birth date 25 March 1957, born in Rome, with Astrodatabank biography - Astro-Databank add Historic: Treaty of Rome to 'my astro' Biography The Treaty of Rome is an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The word Economic was deleted from the treaty's name by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, and the treaty was repackaged as the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union on the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009.

Link to Wikipedia Source Notes Rolf Liefeld quotes the french newspaper "Le Soir" de 26 March 1957, article "Les Six ont signé les traités de l’Euratom et du Marché commun": "A 18 h. 50 exactement, ce lundi ... M. Paul-Henri Spaak a signé, le premier, les traités instituant entre les six pays de la Petite Europe... pour annoncer au monde que «l’acte de naissance des États-Unis d’Europe»". Article online as PDF file at Le Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe (CVCE) Categories Mundane : Political : Birth of State or Country Mundane : Political : Treaties Earlier Treaties Before The Lisbon Treaty Economics Essay Earlier Treaties Before The Lisbon Treaty Economics Essay Published: Last Edited: 23rd March, 2015 This essay has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our professional essay writers.

Introduction The impact of earlier Treaties before the Lisbon Treaty enabled the European Parliament to demand the Commission to submit any significant suggestions on matters that concern it which could be required for implementation in the European Parliament. Earlier Treaties before had progressively authorized the institution as a way to democratize the EU (Woolcock, 2008). These earlier Treaties therefore helped to transform the Union from being a mere consultative chamber into an imperative co-decision institution for most EU legislation and also for the embracing of the EU budget. All of these rights were previously established in the EC Treaty. Also relevant in relation to citizens' rights is Title of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, which binds the institutions, bodies and offices and agencies of the EU and binds the Member States when they implement EU law. An overview of other treaties Before the signing the Lisbon treaty, the European Union entered into different treaties that lead to the Lisbon one. This section outlines these treaties. The European Coal and Steel Community treaty (ECSC) (Treaty of Paris): this treaty was signed in 1951 in Paris creating regional institutions meant to manage trade of coal and steel.

Members who signed this treat included France, Italy, West Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg (Chalmers, 2006). European Economic Community (EEC) Treaty (treaty of Rome): This was signed in 1957 by the same countries that formed treaty of Paris. On the same day, another treaty European Atomic Energy Community (the EURATOM Treaty)the was signed by the six countries. Other important treaties that followed included. European Communities (the Merger Treaty of 1965): This treaty merged the three previous treaties (ECSC, EURATOM and EEC) to create the European Communities, as known as the community Market, which was signed in 1967 (Chalmers, 2006). Upon the signing of this treaty, key institutions of the European Union were formed; this included the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and the European Court of Justice. Single European Act:this important treaty was reached in 1987, which amended the previous three founding treaties, thus creating an “internal market” for member states; the market was implemented in 1992.

The goals of this treaty included forming a single currency and creating a free market. The Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty): this was reached in 1992 but was enforced in 1993, creating the European Union, which was based on the European Communities. This particularly treat founded a “three pillar” system. The last treaty signed before the Lisbon treaty was the Treaty of Amsterdam, signed in 1997 that was enforced in 1999.this treaty amended and also renumbered the European Union and the European Community (Chalmers, 2006). Lisbon Treaty: provisions on Democratic Principles Democratic principles provided in the Lisbon Treaty fundamentally purposed to enhance the democratic authority of the Union in the Preamble. These new reforms mainly strengthened the role of the European Parliament, country parliaments, as well as providing for citizen's initiatives, with an aim of increasing democratic legitimacy of the European Union. The Treaties contained provisions focused at cementing democracy in its representatives as well as their participatory dimensions by founding new participatory mechanisms, like the European citizens' initiative, and new guides of communication and information with the European civil society.

The European Parliament (EP): The Lisbon Treaty moved one step ahead in regard to the idea of representation by establishing that the European Parliament should be composed of representatives of the Union's citizens, appointed for five years through direct universal suffrage in a free and fair secret election. According to these regulations, the European Council had to determine through accord, on the initiative of its Parliament, future composition of the latter institution and the number of Members of European Parliament that should be proportional to each Member State. Extension in the scope of co-decision: According to article 289 in the Treaty regarding the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), co-decision making has become the ‘ordinary legislative procedure'. This co-decision making consists of the collective adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of a directive, order or decision on a proposal from the Commission allowing for an early agreement at first reading. Comitology - Delegated and implementing acts: Committees of Member States officials have executed most of the European Union legislation in accordance to limited democratic control and transparency.

Legislative initiative: The Lisbon Treaty like in earlier Treaties enables the European Parliament to request the Commission to submit any suitable application, and thereafter allow the EP to consider that the European Union act is required so as to implement the Lisbon Treaty. In the event that the Commission does not present such a proposal, then it must inform the European Parliament on the reasons that led to that failure. Appointment of the Commission: The Treaty empowers the EP to elect the President of the European Commission as well as approving the High Representative of the Security Policy and Union for Foreign Affairs and the other constituents of the Commission. EU budget Treaty accords the EP powers to have more command in relation to the budget procedure, since it is capacitated as a co-decider with the Council on all expenditures. International agreements Lisbon Treaty has increased authority of European Council in issues of international agreements since its consent must be sought by European Parliament. European External Action Service (EEAS) The Lisbon Treaty states that the Council is required to confer with the EP on the organization and functioning of the EEAS.

Area of Freedom, Security and Justice: in the area of freedom, security and justice, the Lisbon Treaty allows that besides the national parliaments, the EP has been given the capacity to scrutinize or evaluating the content, development and results of the evaluation system of the implementation of FSJ policy in Member States. Revision of the Treaties Through ordinary revision procedure or simplified procedures, the Lisbon Treaty availed the European Parliament an opportunity to submit to the Council suggestions for the amendment of the Treaties. Withdrawal of a Member State from the Union: In the event of withdrawal eventuality, the Lisbon Treaty offers the Council powers to conclude an agreement on behalf of the Union with the withdrawing Member State, after getting the consent of the European Parliament. European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) According to European Citizens' Initiative, the Lisbon Treaty states that every citizen has the right to participate in the democratic life of the Union. The treaty unlike earlier treaties established the right to directly partake in or influence the EUs decision-making process. Public hearing The Lisbon Treaty provided the Commission and the European Parliament to ensure that hearing is organized in accordance with specified procedures. The treaty directed that hearing would be prepared at the European Parliament.

It also allows participation of other Unions or institutions that deem it appropriate can be represented at all appropriate levels. Participation, influence of citizens, associations and civil society in EU decision-making: In this, the Lisbon Treaty permits facilitation the participation of European civil society and citizens, therefore establishing additional responsibility for EU institutions to promote transparency, openness, and the distribution of information. Articles 15 and 16 TFEU emphasizes the idea of superior governance and demands that Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies should ensure participation and political debate on EU matters in civil society. European Commission The Lisbon Treaty demands that the European Commission should uphold an open, transparent and frequent dialogue with representative associations and civil society. According to the treaty, these consultations require broad approaches with concern of all so as to ensure that Union's actions are articulate and transparent.

European Council The Lisbon Treaty integrated the European Council within the EU institutional systems and distinguishes democratic accountability of all its members in article which states that “Member States are represented in the European Council by their Heads of State or Government and in the Council by their governments, themselves democratically accountable either to their national Parliaments, or to their citizens.” Committee of the Regions (CoR): The Lisbon Treaty considers ‘The Committee of the Regions' (CoR) as an advisory body that is charged with assisting the Council and the Commission through the composition of legislatures of regional and local bodies. The CoR council gives voice in EU policy development and EU legislation to the different regions and their citizens, has been reinforced to some extent. National Parliaments: The Lisbon Treaty in response to national parliaments', demands that there should be more democratic legitimacy for the European Union, and has awarded a number of new rights and powers to the state parliaments so as to make the EU institutions to be more democratic and accountable. The process of endorsing the Lisbon Treaty offered member states an opportunity to negotiate and ratify more powers for their national parliaments.

Through this Lisbon Treaty, Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs (COSAC) has increasingly empowered their collective engagement in the EU lawmaking processes. The treaty also acknowledges inter-parliamentary cooperation for its significance in promoting the participation of Member State Parliaments. Conclusion In conclusion Protocols in the Lisbon Treaty have enhanced and opened up more democratic and regional space for National Parliaments in the European Union. For instance, COSAC provisions in Lisbon Treaty have led to the participation of national parliaments, organized under the supervision of COSAC, with observation and supervision of the EU's action as under provision of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), involving the European Security and Defense Policy. EUROPA - The history of the European Union Europa The Founding Fathers of the EU The following visionary leaders inspired the creation of the European Union we live in today. Without their energy and motivation we would not be living in the climate of peace and stability that we take for granted nowadays. From resistance fighters to lawyers, the Founding Fathers were a diverse group of people who held the same ideals: a peaceful, united and prosperous Europe. Beyond the Founding Fathers described below, many others have worked tirelessly towards, and inspired, the European project.

This section on the Founding Fathers is therefore a work in progress. 1945 - 1959 A peaceful Europe – the beginnings of cooperation The European Union is set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. As of 1950, the European Coal and Steel Community begins to unite European countries economically and politically in order to secure lasting peace. The six founding countries are Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The 1950s are dominated by a cold war between east and west. Protests in Hungary against the Communist regime are put down by Soviet tanks in 1956. In 1957, the Treaty of Rome creates the European Economic Community (EEC), or ‘Common Market’. 1960 - 1969 A period of economic growth The 1960s is a good period for the economy, helped by the fact that EU countries stop charging custom duties when they trade with each other. They also agree joint control over food production, so that everybody now has enough to eat - and soon there is even surplus agricultural produce.

May 1968 becomes famous for student riots in Paris, and many changes in society and behaviour become associated with the so-called ‘68 generation’. 1970 - 1979 A growing Community – the first enlargement Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom join the European Union on 1 January 1973, raising the number of Member States to nine. The short, yet brutal, Arab-Israeli war of October 1973 results in an energy crisis and economic problems in Europe. The last right-wing dictatorships in Europe come to an end with the overthrow of the Salazar regime in Portugal in 1974 and the death of General Franco of Spain in 1975. The EU regional policy starts to transfer huge sums of money to create jobs and infrastructure in poorer areas. The European Parliament increases its influence in EU affairs and in 1979 all citizens can, for the first time, elect their members directly. The fight against pollution intensifies in the 1970s. The EU adopts laws to protect the environment, introducing the notion of ‘the polluter pays’ for the first time.

1980 - 1989 The changing face of Europe - the fall of the Berlin Wall The Polish trade union, Solidarność, and its leader Lech Walesa, become household names across Europe and the world following the Gdansk shipyard strikes in the summer of 1980. In 1981, Greece becomes the 10th member of the EU, and Spain and Portugal follow five years later. In 1986 the Single European Act is signed. This is a treaty which provides the basis for a vast six-year programme aimed at sorting out the problems with the free flow of trade across EU borders and thus creates the ‘Single Market’. There is major political upheaval when, on 9 November 1989, the Berlin Wall is pulled down and the border between East and West Germany is opened for the first time in 28 years. This leads to the reunification of Germany, when both East and West Germany are united in October 1990. 1990 - 1999 A Europe without frontiers With the collapse of communism across central and eastern Europe, Europeans become closer neighbours.

In 1993 the Single Market is completed with the 'four freedoms' of: movement of goods, services, people and money. The 1990s is also the decade of two treaties: the ‘Maastricht’ Treaty on European Union in 1993 and the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999. People are concerned about how to protect the environment and also how Europeans can act together when it comes to security and defence matters. In 1995 the EU gains three more new members: Austria, Finland and Sweden. A small village in Luxembourg gives its name to the ‘Schengen’ agreements that gradually allow people to travel without having their passports checked at the borders. Millions of young people study in other countries with EU support. Communication is made easier as more and more people start using mobile phones and the internet. 2000 – 2009 Further expansion The euro is now the new currency for many Europeans. During the decade more and more countries adopt the euro. 11 September 2001 becomes synonymous with the 'War on Terror' after hijacked airliners are flown into buildings in New York and Washington.

EU countries begin to work much more closely together to fight crime. The political divisions between east and west Europe are finally declared healed when no fewer than 10 new countries join the EU in 2004, followed by Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. A financial crisis hits the global economy in September 2008. The Treaty of Lisbon is ratified by all EU countries before entering into force in 2009. It provides the EU with modern institutions and more efficient working methods. Treaty of rome definition by Babylon’s free dictionary 2K Group Shipping, Trade, Insurance Dictionary The Treaty of Rome, enacted in March 1957, established a European customs union and required the elimination of all quantitative restrictions and other measures having an equivalent effect on trade among the European signatory member states. It was intended to create a single market with free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital and envisioned a single internal European market. It became the founding charter for the European Economic Community, which came into being on January 1, 1958. The Treaty had no provisions for monetary arrangements.

Accomplishments following the treaty included completion of the customs union and establishment of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Wikipedia Dictionaries English Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (TEEC), is an international agreement that led to the founding of the European Economic Community (EEC) on 1 January 1958. It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The word Economic was deleted from the treaty's name by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, and the treaty was repackaged as the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union on the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. See more at Wikipedia.org...

Question: What was the name of the treaty that was signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg Netherlands and West Germany on March 25th 1957 that was an international agreement That led to the founding of the EEC ?
Answer: TREATY OF ROME