LESSON 8 European Economic Community

The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation which aimed to bring about economic integration between its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of Upon the formation of the European Union (EU) in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community (EC). In 2009 the EC's institutions were absorbed into the EU's wider framework and the community ceased to exist.regional organisationeconomic integrationTreaty of RomeEuropean Union

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 ).common marketcustoms unionsix founding membersBelgiumFranceItalyLuxembourgNetherlandsWest GermanyinstitutionsEuropean Coal and Steel CommunityEuropean Atomic Energy CommunityEuropean CommunitiesMerger Treaty

In 1993, a completesingle 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 covering 15 countries.single marketinternal marketEuropean Free Trade AssociationEuropean Economic Area

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".Maastricht Treatythree pillars of the European UnionTreaty of Lisbon

The main aim of the EEC, as stated in its preamble, was to "preserve peace and liberty and to lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe". Calling for balanced economic growth, this was to be accomplished through: The establishment of a customs union with a common external tariffcustoms unioncommon external tariff Common policies for agriculture, transport and trade, including standardization (for example, the CE marking designates standards compliance)agriculturetransportstandardizationCE marking Enlargement of the EEC to the rest of Europe Enlargement of the EEC

The six states that founded the EEC and the other two Communities were known as the "inner six" (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association). The six were France, West Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Greece, Spain and Portugal joined in the 1980s. The former East Germany became part of the EEC upon German reunification in Following the creation of the EU in 1993, it has enlarged to include an additional sixteen countries by 2013.inner sixEuropean Free Trade AssociationBeneluxEast Germany