EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY

Abstract

This chapter discusses the establishment and basic structure of European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The Euratom is one of three European Communities. The treaty establishing the Euratom Community was signed by Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands in Rome on May 25, 1957 simultaneously with the treaty establishing the European Economic Community. Both these treaties entered into force on January 1, 1958. The Euratom Treaty was adjusted to permit the accession of Denmark, the Great Britain, and Ireland as member states from January 1, 1973, and of Greece from January 1, 1981. The institutional structure of Euratom is almost identical with that of the European Economic Community, comprising four institutions: an Assembly, a Commission initially consisting of five members, a Council of Ministers, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities. The Assembly and the Court have been shared from the beginning by the three European Communities as common institutions.