Netherlands · 50 years of the Treaties of Rome

The “Treaties of Rome (Römischen Verträge)” comprised two separate agreements: the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (Europäische Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft, EEC) and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The parties to the treaties were Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Both Communities began their work at the beginning of 1958.

The treaties were connected with European integration after the Second World War. This had been preceded in 1951 by the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (Europäische Gemeinschaft für Kohle und Stahl). It placed key areas of heavy industry under common rules. A more far-reaching plan for a European Defence Community (Europäische Verteidigungsgemeinschaft), by contrast, failed in 1954. Cooperation then shifted back to economic and institutional projects.

The core of the EEC was the gradual creation of a common market. Customs duties between the member states were to be dismantled and a common external tariff introduced. This was accompanied by common rules and policies, including for agriculture, trade and competition. Economic integration was also intended to promote lasting political cooperation. Euratom was intended to coordinate the peaceful use of nuclear energy, support research and monitor the supply of nuclear materials.

The EEC later developed into the European Community (Europäische Gemeinschaft). Its institutions and legal order formed a foundation of today’s European Union (Europäische Union). The EU was established in 1993 by the Treaty of Maastricht; in this process, the European Economic Community was renamed the European Community. Euratom continues to exist as an independent treaty-based community.

The 2007 issue was the first joint 2-euro commemorative coin of the euro area countries at that time. The uniform design thus referred not only to an anniversary but also to the institutional cooperation that emerged from the treaties. As an exception, the issue was permitted to mint an additional coin alongside another national commemorative coin. The Luxembourgish ruler’s portrait takes into account the requirement there to depict the Grand Duke on the national sides of the euro coins.