B1.3 EU Regulatory Framework
B1.3.1 The Treaty of Rome
The Treaty of Rome was the founding treaty of the European Economic Community (EEC), which later became the European Union (EU). It is also known as the Treaty of the European Community (TEC).
All the subsequent European treaties have built upon or amended the Treaty of Rome and its provisions still form the majority of EU treaty law.
The Treaty of Rome established a common market (based on the 4 freedoms), common policies and a customs union (part of the first of the 3 pillars).
The 4 freedoms are:
- Capital
- Goods
- People
- Services
The 3 Pillars are:
- European Communities
- Customs Unions, Agriculture, Structure and Trade Policies.
- Foreign Policy and Security
- Democracy, Human Rights, Peace, Cooperation, Foreign Aid.
- Domestic Policy and Justice
- Combating organized crime, drug & weapon trade, terrorism, racism, crimes against children and human trafficking.
- Cooperation between Civil and Criminal judicial authorities and police.
The Treaty was the result of eleven years of attempts to reconstruct the European continent after World War II. It was signed in 1957 by the Heads of Government of France, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.
The Treaty established four institutions – a Commission, a Council of Ministers (now known as the Council of the European Union), a European Parliament and a European Court of Justice. These were to be staffed by officials, ministers, judges and parliamentarians from Member States.