Glossary:Treaties of Rome

The Treaties of Rome are two treaties signed in Rome on 25 March 1957 which came into force on 1 January 1958:

• the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, also referred to as the EEC Treaty, established the European Economic Community (EEC);
• the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, also referred to as the Euratom Treaty, established the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom).

Both were signed by the six founding Member States: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. The EEC Treaty is the legal basis for the European Union (EU).

The EEC Treaty has been amended and renamed on several occasions, the most important of which were:

• the 1993 Treaty of Maastricht on European Union renaming the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC Treaty) to the Treaty establishing the European Community or EC Treaty;
• the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, replacing the EC Treaty with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Further information

• Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - Official Journal of the European Communities C 326 of 26 October 2012 (PDF)
• EUROPA - EUR-Lex - Treaties

Related concepts

• European Union (EU) 
• Treaty on European Union (Treaty of Maastricht)