The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community in 1957, laying the institutional and legal foundation for what became the European Union.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 25 March 1957
- Date in force
- 1 January 1958
- Founding signatories
- Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, West Germany
- Renamed by Maastricht Treaty
- 1992 — 'economic' removed from official title
- Current name (since 2009)
- Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the devastation of World War II, Western European nations sought deeper economic integration to promote stability and prosperity. Building on the 1951 Treaty of Paris that created the European Coal and Steel Community, six founding states sought to extend cooperation across broader economic sectors through a common market framework.
On 25 March 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community. The treaty provided for a customs union, the progressive elimination of trade barriers, a common market for goods, labour, services, and capital, and the creation of institutions including the European Commission, a Common Agriculture Policy, and a European Social Fund.
The EEC entered into force on 1 January 1958 and progressively deepened economic integration among member states. The treaty was amended multiple times, most notably by the 1992 Maastricht Treaty which transformed the EEC into the broader European Union framework, and by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon which renamed it the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Political Outcome
Establishment of the European Economic Community and a common market among six Western European states, forming the legal basis for the future European Union.
Six separate national economies with independent trade policies and limited supranational cooperation
A supranational European Economic Community with shared institutions, a customs union, and a common market framework