European Community

European Community. It was one of the three foundational pillars of the European Union established by the Maastricht Treaty, representing the core of European economic integration. Originally formed as the European Economic Community by the Treaty of Rome, it evolved into a major entity governing a single market, agricultural policy, and numerous other common policies. Its legal personality and institutions were fully absorbed into the reformed European Union framework by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, marking the end of its distinct existence.

History

The origins of the European Community lie in the European Coal and Steel Community, established by the Treaty of Paris among Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. Building on this success, the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. A key early achievement was the establishment of a customs union, eliminating internal tariffs. The period of the Empty Chair Crisis and the subsequent Luxembourg Compromise tested its political cohesion. The Single European Act of 1986 was a transformative treaty that set a definitive timetable for completing the single market by 1992, significantly deepening integration.

Institutions

The European Community operated through a sophisticated institutional framework, which later became the core of the European Union. The principal institutions included the European Commission, based in Brussels, which held the exclusive right to propose legislation and acted as the executive. The European Parliament, initially with consultative powers, gained increased authority through treaties like the Maastricht Treaty and was directly elected from 1979. The Council of the European Union, representing member state governments, was the primary legislative body. The European Court of Justice, seated in Luxembourg, ensured uniform interpretation of European Community law. Other key bodies included the European Court of Auditors and the European Economic and Social Committee.

Objectives and achievements

The primary objective was to create a common market, later a single market, allowing the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people. Landmark policies included the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, and the creation of the European Regional Development Fund. It developed a common competition policy enforced by the European Commission and established the basis for the Economic and Monetary Union, leading to the euro. The community also forged significant international trade agreements through its Common Commercial Policy and played a leading role in environmental protection and research initiatives like the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development.

Legal framework

The legal system, known as European Community law, was characterized by the principles of direct effect and supremacy over national law, as established in landmark rulings by the European Court of Justice such as Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen and Costa v ENEL. Legislation took the form of regulations, directives, and decisions. The foundational treaties, particularly the Treaty of Rome as amended by subsequent acts like the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty, constituted its constitutional basis. This autonomous legal order was a defining feature of the community's integration model.

Relationship with the European Union

The European Community became the central, most integrated pillar of the European Union upon the latter's creation by the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, coexisting with the intergovernmental pillars of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters. While the European Union was the overarching political entity, the European Community possessed its own legal personality and was the primary vehicle for economic and social policy. This three-pillar structure was dissolved by the Treaty of Lisbon, which merged the European Community into the European Union, endowing the latter with a single legal personality and formally abolishing the European Community as a distinct entity.

Member states

The original six members of the European Economic Community were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The first enlargement occurred in 1973 with the accession of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Subsequent enlargements brought in Greece in 1981, followed by Portugal and Spain in 1986. The European Free Trade Association members Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined in 1995. Following the Fall of the Iron Curtain, a major expansion in 2004 included Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia, with Bulgaria and Romania acceding in 2007. At the time of its dissolution, the European Community comprised 27 member states.