The Treaty of Rome (1957)

The Treaty of Rome, formally the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community (TEEC), was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. It entered into force on 1 January 1958 and created the European Economic Community (EEC), establishing a common market and laying the foundation for what would become the European Union. The Treaty of Rome is one of the most significant international agreements of the twentieth century.

Historical Context

The Treaty of Rome followed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC, 1951), created by the Schuman Declaration (9 May 1950), which integrated coal and steel production under a supranational High Authority. The Six sought deeper economic integration to secure peace and prosperity after World War II. The failure of the European Defence Community (1954) led the Six to refocus on economic integration as the most viable path to European unity. The Spaak Report (1956), prepared by an intergovernmental committee chaired by Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak, provided the blueprint for the common market and Euratom.

The Treaty was signed at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill in Rome alongside the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The choice of Rome symbolized the connection to the ancient Roman legal heritage and the Treaties of Rome that had established earlier European institutions. The six founding states represented the core of continental Western Europe: France, Germany, Italy, and the three Benelux countries, which had already established economic integration through the Benelux customs union (1948).

Key Objectives

Article 2 of the Treaty defined the Community’s task: establishing a common market and progressively approximating economic policies to promote throughout the Community harmonious development of economic activities, continuous and balanced expansion, increased stability, accelerated raising of the standard of living, and closer relations between the states belonging to it. The Treaty aimed to create an area without internal frontiers where goods, persons, services, and capital could move freely — the four fundamental freedoms.

The Treaty’s preamble expressed the signatories’ determination to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe. The objectives were both economic and political: economic integration would create interdependence that made war impossible and would gradually build the conditions for political union. This functionalist approach — integrating first in economic areas, with political integration following — had been the strategy behind the Schuman Declaration and remained the guiding philosophy of the Treaty of Rome.

Institutional Framework

The Treaty established four principal institutions. The Commission (the High Authority’s successor in style) functioned as an independent executive proposing legislation, monitoring Treaty compliance, and managing common policies. The Commission’s members were appointed by common accord of Member State governments, pledged to act independently in the Community’s interest. The Council of Ministers represented Member States, adopting legislation on Commission proposals, initially by unanimity with gradual transition to qualified majority voting.

The Assembly (later the European Parliament) initially had advisory and supervisory powers only, with members appointed from national parliaments. The Court of Justice ensured uniform interpretation and application of Community law, with preliminary reference procedure (Article 177) enabling national courts to refer questions of interpretation. The Economic and Social Committee provided advisory input from organized civil society. The institutional framework was designed to balance supranational integration (Commission, Court) with national representation (Council), ensuring that Community institutions could act effectively while Member States retained control over fundamental policy choices.

Substantive Provisions

The Treaty prohibited customs duties and quantitative restrictions on trade between Member States (Articles 12–17), establishing a customs union with a common external tariff (Articles 18–29). It prohibited discriminatory internal taxation (Article 95) and created rules on competition (Articles 85–94), including prohibitions on anti-competitive agreements (Article 85), abuse of dominant position (Article 86), and state aids (Articles 92–94). It provided for common policies in agriculture (Articles 38–47), transport (Articles 74–84), and trade (Articles 110–116).

The Treaty included provisions on the free movement of workers (Articles 48–51), the right of establishment (Articles 52–58), and the freedom to provide services (Articles 59–66). It provided for the approximation of laws (Article 100) necessary for the functioning of the common market. The social provisions (Articles 117–122) addressed equal pay for equal work (Article 119) and improved working conditions. The Treaty also established the European Investment Bank, the European Social Fund, and the Overseas Countries and Territories association.

The Common Market

The Treaty set a transitional period of twelve years divided into three stages (each four years) for completing the common market. The first stage (1958–1962) required the elimination of 30% of tariffs, the second stage (1962–1966) required 30%, and the third stage (1966–1970) the remaining 40%. Tariffs between Member States were progressively reduced, with full elimination achieved on 1 July 1968 — eighteen months ahead of schedule. The customs union was completed ahead of schedule, demonstrating the political commitment to integration and the success of the Community method.

The common customs tariff was also implemented by July 1968, creating a unified external trade policy. The Community’s trade negotiating authority was exercised in the Kennedy Round of GATT negotiations (1964–1967), where the Commission negotiated on behalf of Member States. The successful completion of the customs union strengthened the Community’s international standing and its internal cohesion.

Amendments and Evolution

The Treaty of Rome has been substantially amended by subsequent treaties. The Single European Act (1986) introduced qualified majority voting to complete the internal market, enhanced the Parliament’s legislative role, and established formal cooperation in foreign policy. The Maastricht Treaty (1992) created the European Union and the three-pillar structure, introduced co-decision, and set the timetable for monetary union. The Amsterdam Treaty (1997) consolidated the treaties and integrated the Schengen acquis and the Social Chapter.

The Nice Treaty (2001) reformed institutions for enlargement. The Lisbon Treaty (2007) abolished the pillar structure, created the post of European Council President, streamlined voting, and renamed the Treaty of Rome as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The TFEU, alongside the Treaty on European Union (TEU), forms the current constitutional foundation of the European Union.

Legacy

The Treaty of Rome created the institutional and legal framework for European integration that expanded from six to twenty-seven Member States, encompassing over 440 million people. It established the Community method — the unique governance system combining supranational institutions, rule of law, and intergovernmental cooperation — that has become the model for regional integration worldwide.

The Treaty’s vision of peace through economic integration remains the foundation of the European Union. The four fundamental freedoms it established — free movement of goods, persons, services, and capital — created the world’s most advanced internal market. The institutions it created — particularly the Commission, Council, and Court of Justice — evolved into the complex governance system of the modern EU. The preliminary reference procedure, perhaps the Treaty’s most important innovation, created a decentralized judicial system that has made EU law enforceable by national courts and has driven the constitutionalization of the EU legal order.