The European Atomic Energy Community, or EURATOM, is an international organisation composed of the members of the European Union. It was established on March 25, 1957, by a second treaty of Rome, signed the same day as the more famous Treaty of Rome, instituting the European Economic Community (EEC). The European Atomic Energy Community is a separate entity, but membership and organization is fully integrated with the European Union. The organisational structures of EURATOM and EEC (together with the now defunct European Coal and Steel Community -ECSC-), merged in 1967, by virtue of the Merger Treaty (signed in 1965).

The denomination "the Communities" (plural), as in the Commission of the European Communities and the Court of Justice of the European Communities are occasional reminders of the existence of two distinct institutions.

The purposes of Euratom were to create a specialist market for atomic energy and distribute it through the Community and to develop nuclear energy and sell surplus to non-Community States.

Some suggest that Euratom should disappear in a similar way to ECSC and merge the European Community and the European Atomic Energy Community in a new European Community and Treaties.

Presidents of the European Atomic Community, 1958-1967

• Louis Armand (France) 1958-1959
• Étienne Hirsch (France) 1959-1962
• Pierre Chatenet (France) 1962-1967

See also

• Institutions of the European Union
• History of the European Union
• EU Directorate General Joint Research Centre - often incorrectly referred to as Euratom due to it being its origin.
• European Energy Community

External links

• DG Energy and Transport website on Nuclear Issues.

Timeline

International organizations | Research | European Union | Nuclear organizations

Comunitat Europea de l'Energia Atòmica | Evropské společenství pro atomovou energii | Europäische Atomgemeinschaft | Comunidad Europea de la Energía Atómica | Communauté européenne de l'énergie atomique | Comunità Europea dell'Energia Atomica | Európai Atomenergia Közösség | Europese Atoomenergie Gemeenschap | 欧州原子力共同体 | Det europeiske atomenergifellesskap | Europejska Wspólnota Energii Atomowej | Euratom | Euratom | Európske spoločenstvo pre atómovú energiu | Evropska skupnost za jedrsko energijo | Euroopan atomienergiayhteisö | Euratom