The "Six" - France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries - sign the Treaty of Rome - the foundation of the European Community.
It sets up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) which work alongside the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) founded in 1951.
The EEC establishes a nine-member commission based in Brussels and all three communities share a Parliamentary Assembly headed by Robert Schuman and a Court of Justice.
The following year, preparations for a Common Agricultural Policy - which will eventually be launched in 1962 - begin at a summit in Stresa in Italy.
