Treaties of Rome

Treaty of Rome

Treaty establishing the European Economic Community
The signing ceremony of the Treaty at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill
Type	Founding treaty
Signed	25 March 1957
Location	Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy
Effective	1 January 1958
Parties	Original parties:  Belgium France  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  West Germany
Depositary	Government of Italy
Languages	German, French, Italian and Dutch (original version)
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Original parties:

The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (TEEC), is an international agreement that brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best-known of the European Communities (EC). It was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany and came into force on 1 January 1958. It remains one of the two most important treaties in the modern-day European Union (EU).

The TEEC proposed the progressive reduction of customs duties and the establishment of a customs union. It proposed to create a single market for goods, labour, services, and capital across the EEC's member states. It also proposed the creation of a Common Agriculture Policy, a Common Transport Policy and a European Social Fund, and established the European Commission.

The treaty's name has been retrospectively 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".

In 1951, the 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.