Global InformationEuropean Economic Community information
European Economic Community/European Community
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| 1958–1993 | |||||||||||||||||
 Flag (1986)[1] | |||||||||||||||||
| Anthem: "Ode to Joy" (orchestral)
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 EEC in 1993 | |||||||||||||||||
| Status | Economic union | ||||||||||||||||
| Institutional seats |
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| Largest city | London | ||||||||||||||||
| Official languages | 9 (1993)
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| Commission President | |||||||||||||||||
• 1958–1967 | Walter Hallstein | ||||||||||||||||
• 1967–1970 | Jean Rey | ||||||||||||||||
• 1970–1972 | Franco Maria Malfatti | ||||||||||||||||
• 1972–1973 | Sicco Mansholt | ||||||||||||||||
• 1973–1977 | François-Xavier Ortoli | ||||||||||||||||
• 1977–1981 | Roy Jenkins | ||||||||||||||||
• 1981–1985 | Gaston Thorn | ||||||||||||||||
• 1985–1993 | Jacques Delors | ||||||||||||||||
| Legislature |
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| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||||||||
• Treaty signed | 25 March 1957 | ||||||||||||||||
• Established | 1 January 1958 | ||||||||||||||||
• European Communities | 1 July 1967 | ||||||||||||||||
• Single market | 1 January 1993 | ||||||||||||||||
• EEC becomes the European Community, one of the 3 European Communities constituting the I pillar of the EU | 1 November 1993 | ||||||||||||||||
• Pillar abolished | 1 December 2009 | ||||||||||||||||
| Currency | 13 currencies
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| Today part of | European Union United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||
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. | |||||||||||||||||
| History of the European Union |
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 European Union portal |
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,[note 1] aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.[2]
In 2009, the EC formally ceased to exist and its institutions were directly absorbed by the EU. This made the Union the formal successor institution of the Community.
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, which encompasses 15 countries.
Upon the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, the EEC was renamed the European Community to reflect that it covered a wider range than economic policy. This was also when the three European Communities, including the EC, were collectively made to constitute the first of the three pillars of the European Union, which the treaty also founded. The EC existed in this form until it was abolished by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon, which incorporated the EC's institutions into the EU's wider framework and provided that the EU would "replace and succeed the European Community".[citation needed]
The EEC was also known as the European Common Market in the English-speaking countries[3] and sometimes referred to as the European Community even before it was officially renamed as such in 1993.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
emblemwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^
- "European Community". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
The term also commonly refers to the 'European Communities', which comprise ...
- "Introduction to EU Publications". Guide to European Union Publications at the EDC. The University of Exeter. Archived from the original on 24 September 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
The European Community originally consisted of three separate Communities founded by treaty ...
- Derek Urwin, University of Aberdeen. "Glossary of The European Union and European Communities". Retrieved 30 January 2009.
European Community (EC). The often used singular of the European Communities.
- "European Community". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ "From 1963: The Two Faces of the Common Market". The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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