2. European Community The EU originates from the European Coal and Steel Community formed among six countries in 1951 and the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany were the founding members of this Community. In 1957, Rome Treaty created the European Economic Community, and these six countries signed it. In 1967 the Merger Treaty created a single set of institutions which were referred as the European Communities (EC) although commonly known just as the European Community. The EU was formed mainly out of need for stability in Europe after the Second World War, and it was a product of firstly economic agreements, which still form the main basis of today's EU.
