EECs

EECs most commonly denotes the European Economic Community, the early structure that aimed to create a large integrated European market. Established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, its six founding members were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The core objective was to remove internal barriers to trade, implement a common external tariff, and coordinate policies in areas such as agriculture, industry, and transportation, ultimately laying the groundwork for a single market.

The EEC operated through a set of institutions, including the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, and a Parliament whose role expanded over time. Over the following decades, the EEC advanced economic integration, notably through the Single European Act of 1986 which aimed to complete the internal market by 1992. In 1967, the EEC merged with the European Coal and Steel Community and Euratom to form the European Community (EC) under the Merger Treaty, strengthening its institutional framework and expanding membership through subsequent enlargements.

In 1992 the Maastricht Treaty renamed the European Community as the European Union, reflecting a broader political and security dimension in addition to economic ties. The term EEC gradually fell from official use, with European Community and later European Union becoming the standard references. Today, EECs are largely regarded as a historical designation, with the legacy of the EEC most visible in the foundational rules for the EU’s internal market, free movement of goods, services, capital, and people, and the precedent for deeper economic and political integration across Europe.