Foundation of the EC

In 1957 Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome, which led to the establishment of the European Community, EC. The EC was established especially to increase trade between the member states, and therefore the Treaty of Rome contained provisions for the creation of a common market. The most important aspect was the establishment of a Customs Union whereby the member states abolished customs tariffs on intra﷓EC trade and imposed a common customs tariff on goods imported from other countries.

The Customs Union was completed in 1968.