View source for Treaty of Rome

{{Short description|1957 founding treaty of the European Economic Community}}
{{Other uses|Treaty of Rome  (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date = March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Infobox Treaty
| name                = Treaty establishing the European Economic Community
| long_name           = 
| image               = Treaty of Rome.jpg
| image_width         = 
| caption             = Signing ceremony of the treaty at the ''[[Palazzo dei Conservatori]]'', on [[Capitoline Hill]], [[Rome]]
| type                = Founding treaty
| date_drafted        =
| date_signed         = 25 March 1957
| location_signed     = [[Capitoline Hill]] in [[Rome]], [[Italy]]
| date_sealed         =
| date_effective      = 1 January 1958
| condition_effective =
| date_expiration     =
| signatories         = 
| parties             = [[Member state of the European Union|EU member states]]
| ratifiers           =
| depositor           = [[Government of Italy]]
| language            =
| languages           = 
| wikisource          = Treaty establishing the European Economic Community
}}
{{Politics of the European Union}}

The '''Treaty of Rome''', or '''EEC Treaty''' (officially the '''Treaty establishing the European Economic Community'''), brought about the creation of the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC), the best known of the [[European Communities]] (EC). The treaty was signed on 25 March 1957 by [[Belgium]], [[French Fourth Republic|France]], [[Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[West Germany]], and it came into force on 1 January 1958. Originally the "Treaty establishing the European Economic Community", and now continuing under the name "[[Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union]]", it remains one of the [[treaties of the European Union|two most important treaties]] in what is now the [[European Union]] (EU).

The treaty proposed the progressive reduction of [[tariff|customs duties]] and the establishment of a [[customs union]]. It proposed to create a [[Single market|common market]] for goods, labour, services, and capital across member states. It also proposed the creation of a [[Common Agriculture Policy]], a [[transport in Europe|Common Transport Policy]] and a [[European Social Fund]] and established the [[European Commission]].

The treaty has been amended on several occasions since 1957. 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".

==History==
===Background===
In 1951, the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|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, because 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 of the European Coal and Steel Community|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.

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, and on 1 May 1953 for steel.

Partly in the aim of creating a [[European Federation|United States of Europe]], two further Communities were proposed, again by the French. A [[European Defence Community]] (EDC) and a [[European Political Community (1952)|European Political Community]] (EPC). While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the [[European Parliament|Common Assembly]], the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the [[French Parliament]]. [[President of the European Commission|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.<ref>Raymond F. Mikesell, ''The Lessons of Benelux and the European Coal and Steel Community for the European Economic Community'', The American Economic Review, Vol. 48, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Seventieth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association (May 1958), pp. 428–441</ref>

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 that further nuclear development was needed, in order to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. The Benelux states and West Germany were also keen on creating a general [[Single market|common market]]; however, this was opposed by France owing to its [[Protectionism|protectionist]] policy, 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.<ref>[http://www.cvce.eu/obj/1957_1968_successes_and_crises-en-5136b72a-0de2-4636-bda0-27e58b6c83e8.html 1957–1968 Successes and crises] – CVCE (Centre for European Studies)</ref> 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 [[Spaak report|report]] on the creation of a common European market. Both the Spaak report and the Treaty of Rome were drafted by [[Pierre Uri]], a close collaborator of Monnet.

===Move towards a common market===
The [[Spaak Report]]<ref>[http://aei.pitt.edu/995/ The Brussels Report on the General Common Market (abridged, English translation of document commonly called the Spaak Report)] – AEI (Archive of European Integration)</ref> 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 [[Castle of the Valley of the Duchess|Val Duchesse]] in 1956.

The outcome of the conference was that the new Communities would share the Common Assembly (now the Parliamentary Assembly) with the ECSC, as they would the [[European Court of Justice]]. However, they would not share the ECSC's Council or High Authority. The two new High Authorities would be called [[European Commission|Commissions]], from a reduction in their powers. France was reluctant to agree to more supranational powers; hence, the new Commissions would have only basic powers, and important decisions would have to be approved by the Council (of national Ministers), which now adopted majority voting.<ref>[http://www.cvce.eu/obj/drafting_of_the_rome_treaties-en-8efe2279-ee12-4a75-aeeb-0bd547f4128f.html Drafting of the Rome Treaties] – CVCE (Centre for European Studies)</ref> [[Euratom]] fostered co-operation in the nuclear field, at the time a very popular area, and the [[European Economic Community]] was to create a full [[customs union]] between members.<ref>[http://www.cvce.eu/obj/a_european_atomic_energy_community-en-19bc7f11-bea1-49c7-b534-18327c303f41.html A European Atomic Energy Community] – CVCE (Centre for European Studies)</ref><ref>[http://www.cvce.eu/obj/a_european_customs_union-en-a11a5f17-d744-479e-ba75-2c70b6058608.html A European Customs Union] – CVCE (Centre for European Studies)</ref>

In 1965, France's president Charles de Gaulle decided to recall French representatives from dealing with the Council of Ministers, greatly crippling the EEC's operations. This was known as the "Empty Chair Crisis."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ludlow |first=N |title=De-commissioning the Empty Chair Crisis: The Community Institutions and the Crisis of 1965-6 |publisher=London School of Economics |year=2006}}</ref> To resolve this, the members agreed to the Luxembourg Compromise, in which veto power was given to members of the EC on decisions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Luxembourg Compromise - Historical Events in the European Integration Process (1945–2009) - CVCE Website |url=https://www.cvce.eu/en/recherche/unit-content/-/unit/02bb76df-d066-4c08-a58a-d4686a3e68ff/7847215b-b917-472d-beb1-a266c1a49f03 |access-date= |website=www.cvce.eu}}</ref> The countries of the European Community held a meeting in The Hague in 1969. At this summit, they collectively ordered an increase to the European Parliament's budget while also committing towards a shift away from national economic policy to greater international policy. Following this agreement, two new [[European Structural and Investment Funds|European Structural Investment Funds]] were created, which were the [[European Regional Development Fund]] and the [[European Social Fund Plus|European Social Fund]]. These focused on the reallocation of investment funds towards the development of the economies of the member states.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cini |first=Michelle |url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=RTNVM4YDTQcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA11&dq=%22Treaty+of+Rome%22&ots=DAbXg_2y_u&sig=5W_cT76131mi9hdblgwc626IgMo#v=onepage&q=%22Treaty%20of%20Rome%22&f=false |title=European Union Politics |last2=Borragán |first2=Nieves Pérez-Solórzano |date=2013-01-17 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-969475-4 |edition=4th |pages=12–24 |language=en}}</ref>

===Signing===
[[File:Traité CEE signatures.jpg|thumb|The signature page on the original Treaty of Rome]]
The conference led to the signing 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]]. 25 March 1957 was also the Catholic feast day of the [[Annunciation of Mary]].

In March 2007, the [[BBC]]'s ''[[Today programme|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 [[Book frontispiece|frontispiece]] and page for the signatures.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today1_rome_20070324.ram|title=''What really happened when the Treaty of Rome was signed 50 years ago''}}</ref><ref>''[http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0700world/tm_headline=eu-landmark-document-was--blank-pages-&method=full&objectid=18802633&siteid=50082-name_page.html EU landmark document was 'blank pages']''</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6483585.stm|title=How divided Europe came together|date=23 March 2007|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; float:centre;"
! Signatories !! For </tr>
| align="right"| [[Paul-Henri Spaak]]{{·}} [[Jean-Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers]] || {{BEL}} </tr>
| align="right"| [[Konrad Adenauer]]{{·}} [[Walter Hallstein]] || {{FRG}} </tr>
| align="right"| [[Christian Pineau]]{{·}} [[Maurice Faure]] || {{FRA}} </tr>
| align="right"| [[Antonio Segni]]{{·}} [[Gaetano Martino]] || {{ITA}} </tr>
| align="right"| [[Joseph Bech]]{{·}} [[Lambert Schaus]] || {{LUX}} </tr>
| align="right"| [[Joseph Luns]]{{·}} [[Hans Linthorst Homan]] || {{NED}} </tr>
|}

===Anniversary commemorations===
Major anniversaries of the signing of the Treaty of Rome have been commemorated in numerous ways.

====Commemorative coins====
Commemorative coins have been struck by numerous European countries, notably at the 30th and 50th anniversaries (1987 and 2007 respectively).

==== 2007 celebrations in Berlin ====
In 2007, celebrations culminated in Berlin with the [[Berlin Declaration (2007)|Berlin declaration]] preparing the [[Lisbon Treaty]].

==== 2017 celebrations in Rome ====
[[File:2017-03-25 and views of Rome 22.jpg|thumb|One of the events in preparation of the 60th anniversary: projection on the [[Colosseum]] by the [[JEF]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/MOVFEDEUROPEO/status/846108516884643843|title=The "European" Colosseum created by federalists on the first page of Frankfurter Allgemeigne Sonntagszeitung! #MarchForEurope2017pic.twitter.com/8JW7o4usBb|last=MFE|date=26 March 2017}}</ref>]]
[[File:Affiche traité de Rome 60 ans sur le Berlaymont.jpg|thumb|Poster celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, on the [[Berlaymont building]]]]
In 2017, Rome was the centre of multiple official<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-17-767_en.htm|title=European Commission – PRESS RELEASES – Press release – Rome Declaration of the Leaders of 27 Member States and of the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission|website=europa.eu|language=en|access-date=2017-03-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.consilium.europa.eu/de/press/press-releases/2017/03/25-tusk-ceremony-rome-speech/|title=Speech by President Donald Tusk at the ceremony of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome – Consilium|website=www.consilium.europa.eu|access-date=2017-03-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-17-768_en.htm|title=European Commission – PRESS RELEASES – Press release – Speech by President Juncker at the 60th Anniversary of the Treaties of Rome celebration – A new chapter for our Union: shaping the future of EU 27|website=europa.eu|language=en|access-date=2017-03-26}}</ref> and popular celebrations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2017/03/25/cortei-roma-il-raduno-dei-federalisti-leuropa-e-anche-pace-solidarieta-e-diritti/3475045/|title=Cortei Roma, il raduno dei federalisti. "L'Europa è anche pace, solidarietà e diritti"|date=2017-03-25|website=Il Fatto Quotidiano|access-date=2017-03-26|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2017/03/25/news/celebrazioni_ue_corteo_europeista-161391480/|title=Celebrazioni Ue, in 5 mila al corteo europeista|date=2017-03-25|work=Repubblica.it|access-date=2017-03-26|language=it}}</ref> Street demonstrations were largely in favour of European unity and integration, according to several news sources.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.liberation.fr/planete/2017/03/25/a-rome-plusieurs-milliers-de-manifestants-defilent-pour-un-reveil-de-l-europe_1558364|title=A Rome, plusieurs milliers de manifestants défilent pour «un réveil de l'Europe»|work=Libération.fr|access-date=2017-03-26|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2017/03/25/a-rome-les-dirigeants-europeens-affirment-leur-unite_5100839_3214.html|title=Des milliers de manifestants en marge des 60 ans du traité de Rome|date=2017-03-25|work=Le Monde.fr|access-date=2017-03-26|language=fr|issn=1950-6244}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/pro-european-anti-populist-protesters-130733986.html|title=Pro-European, Anti-Populist Protesters March as EU Leaders Meet in Rome|access-date=2017-03-26|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ilmessaggero.it/roma/cronaca/trattati_roma_cortei_sit_in_giornata_diretta-2339810.html|title=Trattati di Roma, cortei e sit-in: la giornata in diretta|access-date=2017-03-26|language=it}}</ref>

===Historical assessment===
According to the historian [[Tony Judt]], the Treaty of Rome did not represent a fundamental turning point in the [[History of the European Union|history of European integration]]:

{{blockquote|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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Judt|first=Tony|title=Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945|date=2007|publisher=Pimlico|location=London|isbn=978-0-7126-6564-3|page=303}}</ref>}}

==Timeline==
{{EU evolution  timeline}}

==See also==
* [[History of the European Union]]
* [[Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom]]
* [[Ohlin Report]]
* [[Spaak Report]]
* [[European Coal and Steel Community]]
* [[Euratom]]
* [[European Economic Community]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Treaty of Rome}}
* [http://archives.eui.eu/en/fonds/94854?item=CM3/NEGO Documents] of Treaty of Rome's negotiations are at the [http://www.eui.eu/Research/HistoricalArchivesOfEU/AbouttheHistoricalArchives/Index.aspx Historical Archives of the EU] in Florence
* [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:11957E/TXT Documents of Treaty establishing the European Economic Community] in [[EUR-Lex]]
* [http://www.cvce.eu/recherche/unit-content/-/unit/en/3cb9e142-6ac4-4184-8794-fc3cf619cf33/3cb9e142-6ac4-4184-8794-fc3cf619cf33/Resources History of the Rome Treaties] – [[Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]] (Centre for European Studies)
* [http://www.cvce.eu/obj/treaty_establishing_the_european_economic_community_rome_25_march_1957-en-cca6ba28-0bf3-4ce6-8a76-6b0b3252696e.html Treaty establishing the European Economic Community] – [[Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe|CVCE]] (Centre for European Studies)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928220853/http://www.logo-competition.eu/ Happy Birthday EU] — Union wide design competition to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty
* [http://europa.eu/european-union/eu60_en 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome] – Official Site

{{EU treaties and declarations|date=June 2008}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union]]
[[Category:1950s in Rome]]
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[[Category:Treaties concluded in 1957]]
[[Category:Treaties entered into force in 1958]]
[[Category:1957 in the European Economic Community]]
[[Category:1958 in the European Economic Community]]
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[[Category:March 1957 in Europe]]
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