The Trans-European Networks ( TEN ) were created by the European Union by Articles 154–156 of the Treaty of Rome (1957), with the stated goals of the creation of an internal market and the reinforcement of economic and social cohesion . To various supporters of this policy, it made little sense to talk of a big EU market, with freedom of movement within it for goods, persons and services, unless the various regions and national networks making up that market were properly linked by modern and efficient infrastructure. The construction of Trans-European Networks was also seen as an important element for economic growth and the creation of employment.
28-821: The Treaty Establishing the European Community first provided a legal basis for the TENs. Under the terms of Chapter XV of the Treaty (Articles 154, 155 and 156), the European Union must aim to promote the development of Trans-European Networks as a key element for the creation of the Internal Market and the reinforcement of Economic and Social Cohesion. This development includes the interconnection and interoperability of national networks as well as access to such networks. According with these objectives,
56-590: A Common Agriculture Policy , a Common Transport Policy and a European Social Fund and established the European Commission . The treaty has been 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". In 1951,
84-574: A Council (of governments) and Parliament (of MPs) to be created to act as a counterweight. The inaugural sitting of the Authority was held in Luxembourg's city hall on 10 August 1952. Jean Monnet , the architect of the ECSC, was elected as its first President. The supranational power exercised by the Authority did prompt suspicion by some, for example the government of France who ensured that in
112-585: A result of the Messina Conference of 1955, Paul-Henri Spaak was appointed as chairman of a preparatory committee, the Spaak Committee , charged with the preparation of a report on the creation of a common European market. Both the Spaak report and the Treaty of Rome were drafted by Pierre Uri , a close collaborator of Monnet. The Spaak Report drawn up by the Spaak Committee provided
140-696: The European Commission developed guidelines covering the objectives, priorities, identification of projects of common interest and broad lines of measures for the three sectors concerned (Transports, Energy and Telecommunications). The European Parliament and the Council approved these guidelines after consultation with the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions . Many projects of common interest have benefited from financial support of
168-778: The European Economic Community (EEC) and European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) more power would be in the hands of the council. The Merger Treaty came into force in 1967; this combined the independent institutions of the ECSC and Euratom with those of the EEC. From that time the High Authority ceased to exist, its duties being taken on by the Commission of the European Communities . The administration of Rinaldo Del Bo ended before
196-696: The European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines the legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from the European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration . High Authority of
224-582: The Treaty establishing the European Economic Community ), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg , the Netherlands and West Germany , and it came into force on 1 January 1958. Originally the "Treaty establishing the European Economic Community", and now continuing under
252-581: The Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The Treaty of Paris was an international treaty based on international law, designed to help reconstruct the economies of the European continent, prevent war in Europe and ensure a lasting peace. The original idea was conceived by Jean Monnet , a senior French civil servant and it was announced by Robert Schuman ,
280-493: The member states . The larger states, France, Germany and Italy , appointed two members each with the three smaller states, Belgium , Luxembourg and the Netherlands appointing one member each. The ninth member was the President, who was appointed by the eight other members. Despite being appointed by national governments, the members were not supposed to represent their national interest , but rather took an oath to defend
308-578: The 30th and 50th anniversaries (1987 and 2007 respectively). In 2007, celebrations culminated in Berlin with the Berlin declaration preparing the Lisbon Treaty . In 2017, Rome was the centre of multiple official and popular celebrations. Street demonstrations were largely in favour of European unity and integration, according to several news sources. According to the historian Tony Judt ,
SECTION 10
#1732771796305336-692: The Council (of national Ministers), which now adopted majority voting. Euratom fostered co-operation in the nuclear field, at the time a very popular area, and the European Economic Community was to create a full customs union between members. The conference led to the signing on 25 March 1957, of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and the Euratom Treaty at the Palazzo dei Conservatori on Capitoline Hill in Rome . 25 March 1957
364-502: The European Coal and Steel Community The High Authority was the executive branch of the former European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It was created in 1951 and disbanded in 1967 when it was merged into the European Commission . The High Authority was at the core of the idea of the ECSC. It was to be an independent, supranational executive checked by a Common Assembly. There were concerns about this power, leading to
392-629: The European Coal and Steel Community was to strengthen Franco-German cooperation and banish the possibility of war. France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands began negotiating the treaty. The Treaty Establishing the ECSC was signed in Paris on 18 April 1951, and entered into force on 24 July 1952. The Treaty expired on 23 July 2002, after fifty years, as was foreseen. The common market opened on 10 February 1953 for coal, iron ore and scrap, and on 1 May 1953 for steel. Partly in
420-695: The European Union budget through the TEN-budget line as well as the Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund. The European Investment Bank has also greatly contributed to the financing of these projects through loans. Three classes of network were defined by the treaty: This article about the European Union is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Treaty Establishing the European Community The Treaty of Rome , or EEC Treaty (officially
448-584: The French Foreign Minister, in a declaration on 9 May 1950. The aim was to pool Franco-West German coal and steel production, because the two raw materials were the basis of the industry (including war industry) and power of the two countries. The proposed plan was that Franco-West German coal and steel production would be placed under a common High Authority within the framework of an organisation that would be open for participation to other European countries. The underlying political objective of
476-560: The High Authority in protest and began work on alternative Communities, based on economic integration rather than political integration. As a result of the energy crises, the Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of the ECSC to cover other sources of energy. However, Monnet desired a separate Community to cover nuclear power , and Louis Armand was put in charge of a study into the prospects of nuclear energy use in Europe. The report concluded that further nuclear development
504-744: The High Authority were in Luxembourg city , the seat of most ECSC institutions. This was only intended as the provisional seat as no formal agreement was reached at the ECSC's conference in 1952. Luxembourg had proposed it be the provisional seat (except for the Common Assembly which was to be in Strasbourg) until an agreement was reached. Future executives, the Commissions of the EEC and Euratom, would eventually be based in Brussels . The High Authority first had its offices in hotels, initially
532-559: The Parliamentary Assembly) with the ECSC, as they would the European Court of Justice . However, they would not share the ECSC's Council or High Authority. The two new High Authorities would be called Commissions , from a reduction in their powers. France was reluctant to agree to more supranational powers; hence, the new Commissions would have only basic powers, and important decisions would have to be approved by
560-473: The Treaty of Rome did not represent a fundamental turning point in the history of European integration : It is important not to overstate the importance of the Rome Treaty. It represented for the most part a declaration of future good intentions...Most of the text constituted a framework for instituting procedures designed to establish and enforce future regulations. The only truly significant innovation –
588-722: The aim of creating a United States of Europe , two further Communities were proposed, again by the French. A European Defence Community (EDC) and a European Political Community (EPC). While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly , the ECSC parliamentary chamber, the EDC was rejected by the French Parliament . President Jean Monnet , a leading figure behind the Communities, resigned from
SECTION 20
#1732771796305616-613: The basis for further progress and was accepted at the Venice Conference (29 and 30 May 1956) where the decision was taken to organise an Intergovernmental Conference . The report formed the cornerstone of the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at Val Duchesse in 1956. The outcome of the conference was that the new Communities would share the Common Assembly (now
644-459: The general interests of the Community as a whole. Their independence was aided by members being barred from having any occupation outside the Authority or having any business interests. The President was elected by the other appointed members, rather than directly by member states (as is the case of the current Commission President ). The first president was Jean Monnet . The headquarters of
672-645: The merger so an interim President was appointed to oversee the merger, Albert Coppé . The Authority met for the last time on 28 June 1967. The Authority's principal innovation was its supranational character. It had a broad area of competence to ensure the objectives of the treaty were met and that the common market functioned smoothly. The High Authority could issue three types of legal instruments : Decisions , which were entirely binding laws; Recommendations , which had binding aims but with methods left to member states; and Opinions, which had no legal force. The body consisted of nine members, nearly all appointed from
700-403: The name " Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ", it remains one of the two most important treaties in what is now the European Union (EU). The treaty proposed the progressive reduction of customs duties and the establishment of a customs union . It proposed to create a common market for goods, labour, services, and capital across member states. It also proposed the creation of
728-429: The setting up under Article 177 of a European Court of Justice to which national courts would submit cases for final adjudication – would prove immensely important in later decades but passed largely unnoticed at the time. Since the end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in
756-669: Was also the Catholic feast day of the Annunciation of Mary . In March 2007, the BBC 's Today radio programme reported that delays in printing the treaty meant that the document signed by the European leaders as the Treaty of Rome consisted of blank pages between its frontispiece and page for the signatures. Major anniversaries of the signing of the Treaty of Rome have been commemorated in numerous ways. Commemorative coins have been struck by numerous European countries, notably at
784-447: Was needed, in order to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. The Benelux states and West Germany were also keen on creating a general common market ; however, this was opposed by France owing to its protectionist policy, and Monnet thought it too large and difficult a task. In the end, Monnet proposed creating both as separate Communities to attempt to satisfy all interests. As
#304695