European community

European Economic Community (later, European Community)¹ Danish: Europæiske Økonomiske Fællesskab Dutch: Europese Economische Gemeenschap French: Communauté économique européenne German: Europäische Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft Greek: Ευρωπαϊκή Οικονομική Κοινότητα Italian: Comunità Economica Europea Portuguese: Comunidade Económica Europeia Spanish: Comunidad Económica Europea
Economic union
1958–1993/2009
Flag
Anthem "Ode to Joy" (orchestral)
EEC in 1993
Capital		Brussels Luxembourg Strasbourg²
Languages		9 (1993) Danish Dutch English French German Greek Italian Portuguese Spanish
Political structure		Economic union
Commission President
•	1958–1967	Walter Hallstein
•	1967–1970	Jean Rey
•	1973–1977	François-Xavier Ortoli
•	1977–1981	Roy Jenkins
•	1981–1985	Gaston Thorn
•	1985–1993	Jacques Delors
Legislature		Council of Ministers European Parliament
Historical era		Cold War
•	Treaty signed	25 March 1957
•	Established	1 January 1958
•	European Communities	1 July 1967
•	Single market	1 January 1993
•	Communities become a pillar of the EU	1 November 1993
•	Pillar abolished	1 December 2009
Currency		13 currencies EUA/ECU (accounting) Belgian franc Danish krone French franc German mark Greek drachma Irish pound Italian lira Luxembourgish franc Dutch guilder Portuguese escudo Spanish peseta Pound sterling
Succeeded by European Union
Today part of		European Union
¹ The information in this infobox covers the EEC's time as an independent organisation. It does not give details of post-1993 operation within the EU as that is explained in greater length in the European Union and European Communities articles. ² De facto only, these cities hosted the main institutions but were not titled as capitals due to the EEC being primarily an international organisation.

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The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation which aimed to bring about economic integration among its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957. Upon the formation of the European Union (EU) in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community (EC). In 2009 the EC's institutions were absorbed into the EU's wider framework and the community ceased to exist.

The Community's initial aim was to bring about economic integration, including a common market and customs union, among its six founding members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. It gained a common set of institutions along with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) as one of the European Communities under the 1965 Merger Treaty (Treaty of Brussels). In 1993, a complete single market was achieved, known as the internal market, which allowed for the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people within the EEC. In 1994, the internal market was formalised by the EEA agreement. This agreement also extended the internal market to include most of the member states of the European Free Trade Association, forming the European Economic Area covering 15 countries.

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