The Merger Treaty: Creating a Single Commission and Council of the European Communities

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finn Laursen
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
Energy Transport ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Main Difficulty ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Member States ◽  
Charles De Gaulle ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
De Gaulle

The Merger Treaty was the first reform of the founding treaties of the European Communities. It was signed by the Member States of the Communities in 1965 and entered into force in 1967. It created a single “executive” by merging the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC), and the Commission of the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). It also formally merged the Councils (of ministers) into one. It did not merge the founding Paris and Rome Treaties, nor the three Communities as such. It was thus a relatively limited reform. The main argument used in support of the merger was one of efficiency and better coordination. The three Communities had overlapping competences, for instance in the fields of energy, transport, competition, and social policy, so it was felt that better coordination was needed. Politically the main difficulty was convincing President Charles de Gaulle of France to support the merger, advocated by the “executives” themselves, the Parliamentary Assembly, and the five Member States other than France.

The Merger of the Institutions of the European Communities

1967 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon L. Weil
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Federal Republic ◽  
European Commission ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
Atomic Energy ◽  
Federal Republic Of Germany ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Member States ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Energy Community

On April 8, 1965, the representatives of the six member states (Belgium, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands) of the European Communities signed the “Treaty Establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of the European Communities.” The treaty’s principal object is to replace the executive bodies of the three Communities, i.e., the Commissions of the European Economic Community (E.E.C.) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (E.C.S.C.) by a single European Commission. At the same time, the Councils of Ministers of these three Communities are to be merged into one Council. This Merger Treaty is intended to be the first step toward the ultimate merger of the E.C.S.C, instituted by the Treaty of Paris of April 18, 1951, and the E.E.C. and EURATOM, instituted by the Eome Treaties of March 25, 1957.

De Gaulle Between Grain and Grandeur: The Political Economy of French EC Policy, 1958–1970 (Part 2)

2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Moravcsik
Keyword(s):  
European Economic Community ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Charles De Gaulle ◽  
French Foreign Policy ◽  
Empty Chair ◽  
Economic Considerations ◽  
De Gaulle

The concluding segment of this two-part article explores two key episodes in French foreign policy under President Charles de Gaulle: (1) France's veto of British membership in the European Economic Community (EEC), and (2) de Gaulle's decisions to provoke and then resolve the “empty chair” crisis of 1965–1966. These two cases, like the two examined in Part 1 of this article, demonstrate the fundamental importance of economic considerations in de Gaulle's policy toward the EEC. De Gaulle was a democratic politician first and a geopolitical visionary second. His experience tells us a great deal about the limits imposed by modern democratic politics on any leader who might hope to make statecraft serve an idiosyncratic political vision. The article concludes with an analysis of possible counterarguments and a discussion of the proper use of historical evidence.

Die Europäische Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Berens
Keyword(s):  
European Economic Community ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Charles De Gaulle ◽  
The Right ◽  
Empty Chair ◽  
De Gaulle

The empty chair policy of 1965 marked a severe institutional crisis for the then European economic community. Was the cause of divergences in the European conceptions of the two main actors Charles de Gaulle and Walter Hallstein? And what role did the Luxembourg compromise, that resolved this crisis, play? Is there proof of the right of veto, which became common in the coming years? Alexander Berens, who holds a doctorate in history, addresses these issues in depth and deals with other questions.

scholarly journals De Gaulle as a Father of Europe: The Unpredictability of the FTA's Failure and the EEC's Success (1956–58)

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURENT WARLOUZET
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Charles De Gaulle ◽  
Trade Area ◽  
De Gaulle

AbstractThe failure of the Free Trade Area (FTA), a British ‘Greater Europe’ free-market project, has often been contrasted with the European Economic Community (EEC)'s rapid success. However, this article claims that the EEC's success was neither logical nor automatic. The FTA project was not bound to failure, but could easily have become the principal institution for European co-operation. Moreover, the French leader, Charles de Gaulle, played such a prominent role in the EEC that he could be described as a new ‘Father of Europe’. Without the EEC, France would certainly have been forced to reach agreement on the FTA, but conversely, without de Gaulle, the EEC would probably have been diluted into a larger FTA.

Unification of gift and inheritance taxes and the protection of taxpayers – the inheritors and recipients of donations

2021 ◽  
Vol IV (IV) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Stefan Babiarz
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Union Member ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Investment Activity ◽  
Member States ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
European Union Member States

Gift and inheritance tax in the European Union Member States is calculated and charged in numerous ways. In the majority of countries of the European Economic Community it constitutes a separate tax. In several countries it is not charged at all or is part of the income tax. Despite the attempts made by the European Commission to unify the legislation of the Member States in this regard, there has been no success. The article presents the above-mentioned attempts of the European Commission, their results and consequences. It identifies the methods of avoiding a double or even triple taxation on cross-border inheritances or donations. This is of crucial significance also to the Polish citizens who demonstrate higher and higher investment activity in the countries of the European Economic Community and third countries.

European Community

1966 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-857
Keyword(s):  
European Community ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
Atomic Energy ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
European Economic ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
Council Of Ministers

Council of Ministers: The European Economic Community (EEC) Council Of Ministers met on July 29–30, 1964, to discuss the fusion of the EEC, the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). It also discussed the question of Austria's future relations with the Community and instructed the permanent representatives to prepare draft directives to permit the opening of negotiations with Austria on the subject.

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