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The 'Treaty of Rome', signed by France, West Germany, Italy and Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) on March 25 1957, established the European Economic Community (EEC) and came into force on 1 January 1958. According to George C. McGhee, former US ambassador to West Germany, it was nurtured at Bilderberg meetings.^[1]
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.^[2][3][4]

Contents

Names of the treaty

The treaties of Rome

Signatories

See also

References

External links

Names of the treaty

The treaty's original full name was the 'Treaty establishing the European Economic Community', later renamed by the Treaty of Maastricht to 'Treaty establishing the European Community' (TEC). On the European summit of June 22 and 23, 2007, it was agreed that both the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community will be amended by a new Reform Treaty to have most provisions of the European Constitution included. The Treaty establishing the European Community will be renamed once again in this process, this time to 'Treaty on the Functioning of the Union'.^[5]

The treaties of Rome

Another treaty was signed the same day establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), which came into effect on the same day as the Treaty of Rome, 1 January 1958.
Both treaties, in conjunction with the 'Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community' (the Treaty of Paris, which expired in 2001-2002), have become known as the 'Treaties of Rome'.
To date, the original Treaty of Rome has been amended by all subsequent treaties of the European Union. The Treaty of Nice consolidated all treaties into one document, but within this the EC Treaty (the amended form of the Treaty of Rome) remains a single section with its own article numbering.
Despite subsequent treaties, especially the Treaty of Maastricht, the EC Treaty is still the legal basis for most decisions taken by the institutions of the European Union and it remains the main source of communitary legislation.

Signatories

On behalf of Signed by Paul-Henri Spaak J. Ch. Snoy et d'Oppuers Konrad Adenauer Walter Hallstein Christian Pineau Maurice Faure

On behalf of Signed by Antonio Segni Gaetano Martino Joseph Bech Lambert Schaus Joseph Luns J. Linthorst Homan

See also

★ Berlin Declaration (2007)

★ Common Agricultural Policy

★ Four Freedoms (European Union)

★ History of the European Union

References

1. Origins - articles which explain how and why the Bilderberg meetings began
2. ''What really happened when the Treaty of Rome was signed 50 years ago''
3. ''EU landmark document was 'blank pages'''
4. ''How divided Europe came together ''
5. Presidency Conclusions Brussels European Council 21/22 June 2007

External links

★ Consolidated version of the Treaty (''OJEC'' C325 of 24 December 2002)

★ History of the Rome Treaties European NAvigator

★ Treaty establishing the European Economic Community European NAvigator

★ Happy Birthday EU - Union wide design competition to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty