Appendix 1 - A basic guide to the European Union

Summary

The following is intended to assist readers unaware of the institutional system of the European Union and of Community law. It provides the minimum necessary to understand the various expressions used and references made in this book. Further information can be found in textbooks on EC law or on the website of the European Union at www.europa.eu.int.

THE EUROPEAN UNION, THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA

The Treaty of the European Economic Community (also known as the ‘EEC Treaty’, or the ‘Treaty of Rome’) was signed on 25 March 1957 and came into force on 1 January 1958. The EEC is one of the three existing European Communities, along with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (1951) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC, or ‘Euratom’) (1957).

From November 1993 (the date of entry into force of the Treaty on European Union (see below)), the EEC Treaty is referred to as the EC Treaty, and the European Economic Community is called the European Community. The letters ‘EC’ replace the letters ‘EEC’ in all acts adopted after this date. This change of name reflects the enlargement of the scope of the Treaty beyond mere economic questions.

The European Community has fifteen Member States. The six founding countries were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland and the UK joined in 1973; Greece in 1981; Spain and Portugal in 1986; and Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995.