Treaty of Rome establishes the European Economic Community
- Date
- 25 March 1957 (in force 1 January 1958)
- Category
- Economy & trade
- Region
- Western Europe
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
On 25 March 1957 Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC); a parallel treaty created the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).
Entering into force on 1 January 1958, the EEC Treaty committed the six founding members to a customs union, the progressive removal of internal tariffs, and the free movement of goods, labour, services and capital, along with common policies on agriculture, transport and competition. Building on the earlier European Coal and Steel Community (1951), it aimed to bind former adversaries together economically and to prevent another European war through integration. The EEC fostered decades of intra-European trade growth and prosperity, expanded to include new members from 1973, and evolved through later treaties into the European Union. The Treaty of Rome remains one of the foundational legal instruments of European integration, surviving today as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
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Empires active in 25 March 1957 (in force 1 January 1958)
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related economy & trade events
- China's Reform and Opening-Up Begins Under Deng XiaopingDecember 18, 1978
- The global financial crisis and the collapse of Lehman Brothers15 September 2008
- Containerisation begins: SS Ideal X first container voyage26 April 1956
- The Founding Of OPEC1960
- Aramco's 50-50 Oil Agreement Transforms the Gulf1950
- Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program)3 April 1948 (program 1948–1952)
Further reading
The wider story
The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
Best-selling world history told through the trade routes that moved goods, faiths and ideas.
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