European Common Market

In 1952 a definite step towards economic integration was taken with the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, whose purpose was to unite coal and steel resources of six nations (France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Italy, West Germany) and to eliminate trade barriers on these resources. The success of this Community led to the formation in 1958 of the European Economic Community (EEC), usually called the Common Market. This association including the same nations was formally established by one of the Treaties of Rome and the main goals were the following: 1) to remove barriers to trade among the member nations, 2) to establish a single commercial policy toward non-member countries, 3) to coordinate members’ transportation systems, agricultural and general measures restricting free competition, 5) to ensure the mobility of labour and capital among the members. Different countries joined this coalition latter: the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland in 1973, Greece in 1981, Poland and Spain in 1986. The former East Germany was admitted as a part of reunified Germany in 1990. Austria, Finland and Sweden joined in 1995. The four primary structural organs of the EEC were the Commission, the Council of Ministers, the Court of Justice and the European Parliament. From the beginning one of the EEC’s main goals was to eliminate the tariffs and quotas imposed by members on each other’s exports. The first tariff reduction, 10 percent on industrial goods, was made in 1959 and this proved to be so successful in stimulating trade between member states that by 1968 all internal tariffs had been removed. However, the movement toward the common external tariff advanced at a slower pace. Trade among the members of the EEC quadrupled in value in the period from 1958 to 1968. A common agricultural policy was established in 1962 and consisted of a system of common guaranteed prices that would offer protection against agricultural imports from lower-cost markets outside the EEC. Progress has been made toward common internal policies regarding monopoly control, transportation and social security systems. Furthermore, labour-force training and mobility have received increased coordination. So, the Common Market has contributed greatly toward economic growth and prosperity in western Europe. Later the European Economic Community was renamed the European Community (EC) and after some reorganizations in 1967 and 1980 the EC became the principal organization within the European Union (EU) formed in 1993. The Commission of the EC is headed by 20 members including a president and several vice presidents with at least one commissioner from each nation in the Union. This Commission is responsible for the formal and practical implementation of the various treaties of the Union and rules issued by the Council of Ministers; prepares different acts, implements the EU’s agricultural policies and regional development programmes, etc. The Council of Ministers, the European Council, the European Parliament, the Court of Auditors, the European Investment Bank, the Economic and Social Committee are the main branches of the European Union.

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