The European University Institute is joining an initiative of Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome with a series of cultural, academic and sporting events through 2017. Signed on March 25, 1957, the Treaties of Rome established the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).
The first Treaty, signed by high representatives from Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, brought
into existence the European Economic Community, also known as the Common Market. While its immediate objectives were to integrate trade and strengthen the economies of the area, one of its underlying political desires was to ‘lay the foundations of an ever closer union among the people of Europe’.
The EURATOM treaty instead was meant to contribute to the formation and development of Europe’s nuclear industries so that all the Member States could benefit from the development of atomic energy and that the security of supply would be ensured.
In 1972, representatives of these same six countries would sign the Convention establishing the European University Institute. As stated in Article 2 of the conven- tion, ‘The aim of the Institute shall be to contribute, by its activities in the fields of higher education and research, to the development of the cultural and scientific heritage of Europe […] It shall take into account Europe’s cultural and linguistic pluralism and relations with cultures outside Europe.’
Celebrate Europe with Music
