The European Documentation Centre (EDC)

What are the treaties?

There are two forms of EU legislation: primary legislation embodied in the treaties, and secondary legislation in the form of regulations, directives and decisions which are used to implement the policies set out in the treaties.

The treaties are the basis of the European Union. They are the EU's primary legislative texts and set out the aims of the Union and establish the structures, powers and processes through which it can pursue them. The treaties are legal agreements between the member states. The main text of a treaty may be supplemented by protocols and declarations: a protocol is legally binding on the member states to which it applies; a declaration has no legal force.

Major treaties

• European Coal and Steel Community Treaty (ECSC Treaty)
  Common name: Treaty of Paris
  Signed: 1951   In force: July 1952
  Bound the original six member states (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands) for co-operation in a limited number of areas relating to coal and steel production. It established "Community" institutions, independent of the member states, with both legislative and executive powers.
• European Economic Community Treaty (EEC Treaty or EC Treaty)
  Common name: Treaty of Rome
  Signed: 1957     In force: January 1958
  Expanded the areas of co-operation amongst member states to include agriculture, transport, economics and competition. It also established the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (later re-named the European Parliament) and the Court of Justice.
• European Atomic Energy Treaty
  Common name: Euratom Treaty
  Signed: 1957     In force: January 1958
  Intended to facilitate the growth of nuclear industries in member states.
• Treaty Establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities
  Common name: Merger Treaty
  Signed: 1965     In force: July 1967
  Merged separate bodies of the ECSC, the EEC and Euratom to form a common Council and a single Commission.
• Single European Act (SEA)
  Common name: Treaty of Brussels
  Signed: 1986     In force: July 1987
  A comprehensive review of the Treaty of Rome, this treaty launched the Single Market programme and set a date of 31 December 1992 for completion. Amongst other things it also established the Court of First Instance, formally recognised the European Council and increased the legislative powers of the European Parliament.
• Treaty on European Union (TEU) (pdf)
  Common name: Maastricht Treaty
  Signed: 1992     In force: November 1993
  The second major revision of the treaties. It established a Common Foreign and Security Policy and set a date for economic and monetary union.
• Treaty of Amsterdam (AD)
  Signed: 1997     In force: May 1999
  Amended and simplified the previous treaties. It gave the European Parliament equal legislative powers with the Council.
• Treaty of Nice
  Signed: 2001     In force: February 2003
  Made adaptations to the Community institutions which were necessary for enlargement. The decision rule in the Council was changed from unamimity to qualified majority. The treaty forsees a major reform of the Union's judicial system.
• Treaty of Lisbon
  Signed: 2007     In force: ?
  This Treaty, if ratified, hopes to make the EU more democratic, to increase accountability, openness, transparency and participation, and to make the EU more efficient. 

Availability

The texts of the major treaties are available from the following sources:

• Treaties and law (Europa)
  Section of the European Union's official Europa server, providing links to key EU treaties. 

• EUR-Lex
  The portal to European Union law.  

• EDC print collection
  The treaties and commentaries on the treaties are kept at section EDC 2.01.  

Commentaries

• The Treaties section of Europa, the EU's official server, contains guides to all the major treaties.

• The database European Sources Online may also contain useful background information.

• For printed commentaries on the treaties have a look on the shelves at section EDC 2.01.