Italy · 50 years of the Treaties of Rome

The “Treaties of Rome” (Römischen Verträgen) refers to two separate agreements: the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EWG) and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The parties to the treaties were Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Both treaties entered into force on 1 January 1958.

The agreements were part of Western European integration policy after the Second World War. Previously, the same states had placed key industrial sectors under joint supervision through the European Coal and Steel Community. More far-reaching projects, including a European Defence Community, had nevertheless failed. Thereafter, the focus shifted to economic cooperation.

The EEC was intended to gradually create a common market. This included the elimination of customs duties between the member states, a common external tariff, and the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. The treaty also provided for common policy areas, particularly in agriculture and trade. Euratom was intended to promote cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, research and supply, and health protection. Both communities had their own institutions; the Parliamentary Assembly and the Court of Justice were used jointly by both communities. This institutional structure developed, through several treaty amendments and enlargements, into today’s European Union.

The signing took place in the Saal der Horatier und Curiatier of the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the Capitoline Hill. The location deliberately linked the new communities with Rome as a historically and politically charged European point of reference. The square and its surrounding buildings owe their present layout to plans by Michelangelo.

For the anniversary, the euro-area countries decided for the first time to issue a joint 2-euro commemorative coin. Previously, national commemorative coins had addressed different themes. The uniform basic design referred to a shared treaty origin, while the language and country designation remained nationally adapted. This made both the shared occasion and the national responsibility for issuing the coin visible.