nd should be encouraged first by the integration of the economies of these countries on a sectoral basis. The Treaty of Paris in 1952 was the first step in this process. The signators were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and the treaty they signed formed the European Coal and Steel Community. In subsequent years, the six member states widened the scope of economic integration by broadening it to all major economic sectors, with particular provision for atomic energy. The EC today consists of twelve states, with the original six being joined by the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. These twelve member states adopted an instrument amending the original Treaties for the first time in 1986.
The Single European Act (SEA) was passed in 1986 and took effect in 1987. It can be considered an amendment of the original Treaty, with the goal being to reform the structure of the EEC and to make it more efficient and le
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