View source for European Communities

{{Short description|Former international organizations governed by same set of institutions}}
{{About|the European Union pillars collectively|their principal organization|European Economic Community}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox
|above = European Communities
|header1 = [[Three pillars of the European Union|Pillars of the European Union]]
|data2 = <imagemap>
File:Pillar structure of the European Union.svg|
rect 3 1 176 20 [[European Union]]
rect 65 42 115 170 [[Common Foreign and Security Policy]]
rect 126 42 176 170 [[Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters]]
</imagemap>
|data3 = The three pillars which constituted the European Union (clickable)
|data4 = 1993–2009 [[European Union|→ EU]]
|labelstyle = background:#ddf;
|header5 = Constituent communities
|label6 = [[European Coal and Steel Community]]
|data6 = 1952–2002
|label7 = [[European Economic Community]]/European Community
|data7 = 1958–1993/1993–2009
|label8 = [[European Atomic Energy Community]]
|data8 = 1958–present
}}

The '''European Communities''' ('''EC''') were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of [[Institutions of the European Union|institutions]]. These were the [[European Coal and Steel Community]] (ECSC), the [[European Atomic Energy Community]] (EAEC or Euratom), and the [[European Economic Community]] (EEC), the last of which was renamed the ''European Community'' (''EC'') in 1993 by the [[Maastricht Treaty]] establishing the [[European Union]]. The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while the Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its [[Three pillars of the European Union|first pillar]]. In popular language, however, the singular ''European Community'' was sometimes used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities.<ref name="singular">{{unordered list|{{cite encyclopedia |title=European Community |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1B1-364013.html |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |quote=The term also commonly refers to the 'European Communities', which comprise&nbsp;... |access-date=30 January 2009}}|{{cite web |title=Introduction to EU Publications |publisher=The University of Exeter |work=Guide to European Union Publications at the EDC |url=http://library.exeter.ac.uk/guides/libraries/edcguide.html |quote=The European Community originally consisted of three separate Communities founded by treaty&nbsp;... |access-date=30 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070924171113/http://www.library.exeter.ac.uk/guides/libraries/edcguide.html |archive-date=24 September 2007 |url-status=dead}}|{{cite web |title=Glossary of The European Union and European Communities |author=Derek Urwin, University of Aberdeen |url=http://www.uta.fi/FAST/GC/eurgloss.html |quote=European Community (EC). The often used singular of the European Communities. |access-date=30 January 2009}}}}</ref>

The European Coal and Steel Community ceased to exist in 2002 when its founding treaty expired. The European Community was merged with the second and third EU pillars by the [[Treaty of Lisbon]] in 2009, finally allowing the European Union to move beyond being only a concept and to assume the shape of a legally incorporated international organization with juridical personality, designated as the [[legal successor (organization)|legal successor]] to the Community. However, the reformed EU has not become entirely unified, because Euratom, though governed with the EU by the common set of institutions, has been retained as an entity distinct from the EU, along with a number of other international entities, such as the [[European Investment Bank]], the [[European University Institute]], the [[European Stability Mechanism]], and the [[Unified Patent Court]].

==History==
===Three communities===
{{further|History of the European Communities (1958–1972)|History of the European Communities (1973–1993)}}
{{EU history}}
The ECSC was created first. Following its proposal in 1950 in the [[Schuman Declaration]], [[Belgium]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], the [[Netherlands]], and [[West Germany]] came together to sign the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1951 which established the Community. The success of this Community led to the desire to create more, but attempts at creating a [[European Defence Community]] and a [[European Political Community (1952)|European Political Community]] failed leading to a return to economic matters. In 1957, the EAEC and EEC were created by the [[Treaties of Rome]]. They were to share some of the institutions of the un ECSC but have separate executive structures.<ref name="ENA TEC"/>
The ECSC's aim was to combine the coal and steel industries of its members to create a single market in those resources. It was intended that this would increase prosperity and decrease the risk of these countries going to war through the process of [[European integration]]. The EAEC was working on [[nuclear power|nuclear energy]] co-operation between the members. The EEC was to create a [[customs union]] and general economic co-operation. It later led to the creation of a [[European single market]].<ref name="ENA TEC">[https://www.cvce.eu/obj/the_european_communities-en-3940ef1d-7c10-4d0f-97fc-0cf1e86a32d4.html The European Communities], on CVCE website</ref>

The EEC became the European Community [[Three pillars of the European Union|pillar of the EU]], with the ECSC and EAEC continuing in a similar subordinate position, existing separately in a legal sense but governed by the institutions of the EU as if they were its own. The ECSC's treaty had a 50-year limit and thus expired in 2002; all its activities are now absorbed into the European Community.<ref>{{cite web |title=Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, ECSC Treaty |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/ecsc_en.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Europa (web portal) |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213202339/http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/ecsc_en.htm |archive-date=13 December 2007}}</ref> The EAEC had no such limit and thus continues to exist. Given that [[nuclear power]] is a very sensitive issue for the European electorate, the Euratom Treaty has gone without amendment since its signing, and was not even to be changed with the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe|European Constitution]] intended to repeal all other treaties (the Constitution's replacement, the [[Treaty of Lisbon]], likewise makes no attempt at amendment).<ref>{{cite web |title=Euratom reform |url=http://www.eu-energy.com/euratom-reform.htm |publisher=Eu-energy.com |access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) |url=http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/euratom_en.htm |url-status=dead |publisher=Europa (web portal) |access-date=4 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718210721/http://europa.eu/scadplus/treaties/euratom_en.htm |archive-date=18 July 2012}}</ref>

As the EAEC has a low profile, and the profile of the European Community is dwarfed by that of the EU, the term "European Communities" sees little usage. However, when the EU was established the institutions that dealt solely or mainly with the European Community (as opposed to all three pillars) retained their original names, for example the formal name of the [[European Court of Justice]] was the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" until 2009.<ref>[https://curia.europa.eu/en/instit/presentationfr/index_cje.htm The Court of Justice of the European Communities]</ref>

In 1967, the [[Merger Treaty]] combined these separate executives. The Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts in the other organisations. From then on they became known collectively as the "European Communities", for example the commission was known as the "Commission of the European Communities", although the communities themselves remained separate in legal terms.<ref name="ENA TEC"/>

===Structural evolution of the European Commission===
{{Structural evolution of the European Commission}}

===Pillar===
{{further|History of the European Union (1993–2004)|History of the European Union (since 2004)}}
The [[Maastricht Treaty]] built upon the [[Single European Act]] and the [[Solemn Declaration on European Union]] in the creation of the [[European Union]]. The treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993. The emerging Union integrated the European Communities as its institutional core and one of its [[three pillars of the European Union|three pillars]]. The first [[President of the European Commission|Commission President]] following the creation of the EU was [[Jacques Delors]], who briefly continued his previous EEC tenure before handing over to [[Jacques Santer]] in 1994.

The first pillar was the only one established according to then-innovative principles of [[supranationalism]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Is Europe a federal or a supranational union? |url=https://www.schuman.info/fed.htm |publisher=Schuman.info |access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref> The [[Three pillars of the European Union|pillar structure]] of the EU allowed the areas of European co-operation to be increased without leaders handing a large amount of power to supranational institutions. The pillar system segregated the EU. What were formerly the competencies of the EEC fell within the European Communities pillar. [[Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters|Justice and Home Affairs]] was introduced as a new pillar while [[European Political Cooperation]] became the second pillar (the [[Common Foreign and Security Policy]]).

The Communities institutions became the institutions of the EU but the roles of the institutions between the pillars are different. The commission, Parliament and Court of Justice are largely cut out of activities in the second and third pillars, with the Council dominating proceedings. This is reflected in the names of the institutions: the council is formally the "Council of the ''European Union''" while the commission is formally the "Commission of the ''European Communities''". This allowed the new areas to be based on [[intergovernmentalism]] (unanimous agreement between governments) rather than majority voting and independent institutions according to supranational democracy.

However, after the Treaty of Maastricht, Parliament gained a much bigger role. Maastricht brought in the [[codecision procedure]], which gave it equal legislative power with the Council on Community matters. Hence, with the greater powers of the supranational institutions and the operation of [[Qualified Majority Voting]] in the council, the Communities pillar could be described as a far more [[Federalism|federal]] method of decision making.

The [[Amsterdam Treaty]] transferred rule making powers for border controls, immigration, asylum and cooperation in civil and commercial law from the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar to the European Community (JHA was renamed [[Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters]] (PJCC) as a result). Both Amsterdam and the [[Treaty of Nice]] also extended codecision procedure to nearly all policy areas, giving Parliament equal power to the Council in the Community.

In 2002, the [[Treaty of Paris (1951)|Treaty of Paris]] which established the [[European Coal and Steel Community]] (one of the three communities which comprised the European Communities) expired, having reached its 50-year limit (as the first treaty, it was the only one with a limit). No attempt was made to renew its mandate; instead, the [[Treaty of Nice]] transferred certain of its elements to the [[Treaty of Rome]] and hence its work continued as part of the EC area of the Communities remit.

The [[Treaty of Lisbon]] merged the three pillars and abolished the European Community, with the European Union becoming the Community's legal successor. Only one of the three European Communities still exists, thus making the designation of "European Communities" obsolete.

The abolition of the pillar structure was proposed already under the [[Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe|European Constitution]] which ultimately failed to pass the ratification process.

==EU evolution timeline==
{{EU evolution timeline}}

==Institutions==
{{about||details of the Community institutions|European Economic Community#Institutions|information about the present-day institutions|Institutions of the European Union}}
By virtue of the [[Merger Treaty]], all three Communities were governed by the same institutional framework. Prior to 1967, the [[European Parliament|Common Assembly/European Parliamentary Assembly]] and the [[European Court of Justice|Court of Justice]], established by the ECSC, were already shared with the EEC and EAEC, but they had different executives. The 1967 treaty gave the Council and Commission of the EEC responsibility over ECSC and EAEC affairs, abolishing the Councils of the ECSC and EAEC, the Commission of the EAEC and the [[High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community|High Authority of the ECSC]]. These governed the three Communities until the establishment of the European Union in 1993.

==Members==
{{further|Member state of the European Union|Enlargement of the European Union}}
The three Communities shared the same membership, the six states that signed the Treaty of Paris and subsequent treaties were known as the "[[Inner Six]]" (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the [[European Free Trade Association]]). The six founding countries were [[France]], [[West Germany]], [[Italy]] and the three [[Benelux]] countries: [[Belgium]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[Luxembourg]]. The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of [[Denmark]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] and the [[United Kingdom]]. [[Greece]], [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]] joined in the 1980s. Following the creation of the EU in November 1993, it has enlarged to include a further sixteen countries by July 2013.

[[Image:Expansion of the European Communities 1973-1992.png|thumb|300px|Founding members are shown in green, later members in blue. In 1957 the states that at the time formed [[East Germany]] were not part of the Communities, but they became so on [[German reunification]] in 1990.]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Member State of the European Union|State]]
! [[List of European Union member states by accession|Accession]]
|-
| {{Flagu|Belgium}}
| style="text-align:right" | 25 March 1957
|-
| {{Flagu|Italy}}
| style="text-align:right" | 25 March 1957
|-
| {{Flagu|Luxembourg}}
| style="text-align:right" | 25 March 1957
|-
| {{Flagu|France}}
| style="text-align:right" | 25 March 1957
|-
| {{Flagu|Netherlands}}
| style="text-align:right" | 25 March 1957
|-
| {{Flagu|West Germany}}
| style="text-align:right" | 25 March 1957
|-
| {{Flagu|Denmark}}
| style="text-align:right" | 1 January 1973
|-
| {{Flagu|Ireland}}
| style="text-align:right" | 1 January 1973
|-
| {{Flagu|United Kingdom}}
| style="text-align:right" | 1 January 1973
|-
| {{Flagu|Greece}}
| style="text-align:right" | 1 January 1981
|-
| {{Flagu|Portugal}}
| style="text-align:right" | 1 January 1986
|-
| {{Flagu|Spain}}
| style="text-align:right" | 1 January 1986
|}

Member states are represented in some form in each institution. The [[Council of the European Union|Council]] is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government. Each state also has a right to one [[European Commissioner]] each, although in the [[European Commission]] they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of the Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) had two Commissioners. In the [[European Parliament]], members are [[Apportionment in the European Parliament|allocated a set number seats]] related to their population, however these ([[1979 European Parliament election|since 1979]]) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin. Most other institutions, including the [[European Court of Justice]], have some form of national division of its members.

==Policy areas==
{{further|Three pillars of the European Union}}
At the time of its abolition, the Community pillar covered the following areas:<ref name="Folk">[http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/euo_en/spsv/all/12/ What are the three pillars of the EU?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523080044/http://www.eu-oplysningen.dk/euo_en/spsv/all/12/ |date=23 May 2010 }}, Folketingets EU-Oplysning</ref>
{|
|-
|
| valign="top" |
* [[Border control]]
* [[Citizenship of the European Union|EU Citizenship]]
* [[Common Agricultural Policy]]
* [[Common Fisheries Policy]]
* [[European Community competition law|Competition]]
* [[Consumer protection]]
* [[Customs union]] and [[Single market]]
| valign=top |
* [[Economic and monetary union]]
* Education and Culture
* [[Environmental law]]
* Employment
* Health care
* [[Trans-European Networks]]
| valign=top |
* [[International trade|Trade policy]]
* Research
* [[Social policy]]
* [[Right of asylum|Asylum policy]]
* [[Schengen treaty]]
* [[Immigration policy]]
|}

==Privileges and immunities==
The Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities<ref>[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:12006E/PRO/36:EN:NOT Protocol (No 36) on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities (1965)], EUR-Lex</ref> grants the European Communities and their institutions certain privileges and immunities such as to allow them to perform their tasks. The [[International Organizations Immunities Act]] (22 USC § 288h)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/22/288h|title=22 U.S. Code § 288h - Commission of European Communities; extension of privileges and immunities to members|website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref> of the United States has also been extended to the European Communities.

The working conditions of staff are governed by the Communities' staff regulations<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ_en.do?uri=CONSLEG:1962R0031:20110101:EN:PDF|title=Regulation No. 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community}}</ref> and not directly by the labour laws of the countries of employment. Their salaries, wages and emoluments are subject to a tax for the benefit of the European Communities and are, in turn, exempt from national taxes.

==See also==
* [[Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities]]
* [[Brussels and the European Union]]
* [[Delors Commission]]
* [[European institutions in Strasbourg]]
* [[Energy Community]]
* [[Location of European Union institutions]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Monnet, Jean, ''Prospect for a New Europe'' (1959)
* Balassa, Bela, ''The Theory of Economic Integration'' (1962)
* Hallstein, Walter, ''A New Path to Peaceful Union'' (1962)
* Spaak, Paul-Henri, ''The Continuing Battle: Memories of a European'' (1971)

==External links==
* [http://europa.eu/index_en.htm European Union website]
* [https://www.cvce.eu/obj/treaty_establishing_the_european_economic_community_rome_25_march_1957-en-cca6ba28-0bf3-4ce6-8a76-6b0b3252696e.html Treaty establishing the European Economic Community] CVCE (Centre for European Studies)
* [https://www.cvce.eu/recherche/unit-content/-/unit/3cb9e142-6ac4-4184-8794-fc3cf619cf33/748820d2-8dab-4b91-972b-ae25efea09c9 History of the Rome Treaties] CVCE collection (Centre for European Studies)

{{European Union topics}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:History of the European Union]]
[[Category:1950s in Europe]]
[[Category:1960s in Europe]]
[[Category:1970s in Europe]]
[[Category:1980s in Europe]]
[[Category:1990s in Europe]]
[[Category:2000s in Europe]]