From the Treaty of Rome to the Treaty of Maastricht

Abstract

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union; also referred to as the Treaty of Rome is one of two treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU), the other being the Treaty on European Union; also referred to as the Treaty of Maastricht. The Treaty of Rome brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best-known of the European Community (EC). The Treaty of European Economic Community (TEEC) proposed the progressive reduction of customs duties and the establishment of a customs union. It proposed to create a single market for goods, labor, services, and capital across the EEC's member states. It also proposed the creation of a Common Agriculture Policy, a Common Transport Policy and a European Social Fund, and established the European Commission. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) originated as the treaty establishing the European Economic Community (the EEC treaty), signed in Rome on 25 March 1957. On 7 February 1992, the Maastricht treaty, which led to the formation of the European Union, saw the EEC Treaty renamed as the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) and renumbered. The Maastricht reforms also saw the creation of the European Union's three pillar structure, of which the European Community was the major constituent part. The treaty's name has been retrospectively amended on several occasions since 1957. The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 removed the word "economic" from the Treaty of Rome's official title and, in 2009; the Treaty of Lisbon renamed it the "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union".