On 25th March 1957, two treaties were signed in Rome that gave birth to the European Economic Community (EEC) and to European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom): the Treaties of Rome. The signatories of the historic agreement were Christian Pineau on behalf of France, Joseph Luns from the Netherlands, Paul Henri Spaak from Belgium, Joseph Bech from Luxemburg, Antonio Segni from Italy and Konrad Adenauer from the Federal Republic of Germany. The Treaties were ratified by National Parliaments over the following months and came into force on 1st January 1958.
You have come here to honour the free political union of Europe with your signs. The aim is to guide the peoples of this old Europe to union and harmany. May God illuminate your minds and warm up your hearts. This the the vow of Rome.
– Antonio Segni
4 Comments
JOHN T SHEA
It is very sad how many people are so willing to just throw away sixty years of work and history. Nothing is perfect, but the EEC/EC/EU is all too easily taken for granted.
jazzfeathers
That’s very true, John. Taking things for granted is one fo the most dangerous things anyone can do, in my opinion, because we become completely blind to what we might lose too carelessly.
Margot Kinberg
You always have such interesting information here, for which thanks! And this was such an important step towards acknowledging our global community. There’s nothing at all wrong with celebrating our own languages and cultures. But the fact is, we are all one world. We need to work together for common goals, and this treaty was a critical step towards that.
jazzfeathers
Thanks for the praise, Margot. It means a lot to me, coming from such blogger as you.
And I totally agree. I know people who think that being Europeans means renauncing what we are. I do not believe this. I’m European, I’m Italian, I’m Veneta, I’m Veronese, I’m Mediterranean. There is no contradiction in these, I’m all these things.
Being part of a shared project doesn’t mean renouncing anything. Quite the contrary, it means becoming richer people.
I hope fear won’t blind us to this.