he free trade area, tariffs are eliminated on the trade between the member countries. At the next level, the customs union, common external tariffs are applied to all trade between the member countries and non member countries. The third level, the common market, moves one step further along, and permits the free flow of the factors of production among member countries. At the fourth level, economic union, monetary and fiscal harmonization among member countries is added to the common market system. The final level, political union, involves the creation of a single government over all member countries, and the loss of national identity for the individual member states of the union.
THE CREATION AND EVOLUTION OF THE EEC
The EEC was created with the signing of a treaty in Rome in 1957, by Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Nederlands (Paxton, 1991). The European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) was created at the same time, by the same treaty, and with the same membership (Brewin, 1987). Both the EEC and EURATOM became functioning realities on 1 January 1958 (Brewin and McAllister, 1988). Prior to the creation of the EEC and EURATOM, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) had been created by a treaty signed in Paris in 1951, and became a functional reality on 10 August 1952. The ECSC was the first of the communities, and, when it was formed, was comprised of the same six member countries which formed the EEC and EURATOM.
The three communities the EEC, EURATOM, and the ECSC functioned as separate entities until July 1967. Among the three communities, however, there were some common institutions. The executives of the three communities were merged into a single commission on 1 July 1967. Since that time, the goals and objectives of the three communities have been pursued in a coordinated and cohesive manner.
There are two major long term goals of the EEC. The ...