Rome, Treaties of

Two international agreements signed 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which established the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Commission (Euratom).

The terms of the economic treaty, which came into effect 1 January 1958, provided for economic cooperation, reduction (and eventual removal) of customs barriers, and the free movement of capital, goods, and labour between the member countries, together with common agricultural and trading policies. Subsequent new members of the European Union have been obliged to accept these terms.