European Community Introduction
The European Community includes the European Coal and Steel Alliance, the European Atomic Energy Association and the European Economic Community (Common Market), of which the European Economic Community is the most important. In May 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schumann proposed that French and West German coal steel production be placed under the leadership of a "supernational" agency. On April 18, 1951, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg signed the European Coal and Steel Joint Treaty in Paris under the "Schumann Plan" and decided to establish a common market for coal and steel. The treaty entered into force on July 25, 1952. On March 25, 1957, the six countries signed the Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community and the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (collectively, the Rome Treaty) in Rome. The treaty entered into force on January 1, 1958.