Book Description

"More than 30 years have elapsed since Robert Schuman's declaration of 9 May 1950 and the signature on 18 April 1951 of the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. The time has come for the European Community to take stock. Both as a unique economic and human experiment, and as a reality endowed with powerful legal instruments, this singular phenomenon needs to be examined from the standpoint of history. The establishment of the Community was completed with the conclusion of the Treaties of Rome creating the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. Its institutions have undergone several stages of development, including the merger of the executives, the creation of own resources, the extension of Parliament's budgetary powers and the creation of a Court of Auditors. At the same time the Community was putting into effect the fundamental principles of free movement of goods, persons, services and capital, and developing the common policies which are laid down in the Treaties or which proved necessary in order to attain, in the course of the operation of the common market, one of the objectives of the Community. On two occasions it has been enlarged by the accession of further European States, first Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and subsequently Greece. It has also commenced negotiations with a view to the admission of Spain and Portugal. The progress made by the Community is reflected in a vast range of legislation binding on Member States, firms and individuals, and in the body of case-law built up by the Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The Commission wished to provide a work of reference for lawyers which did not assume any familiarity with questions of Community law. It asked eminent specialists in the subject from the various Member States to make individual contributions to Thirty years of Community law so as to trace the development of the Community, summarize the progress achieved in the various sectors and examine the difficulties which the Community has had to face. Each author was allowed the fullest freedom of expression. Neither the Commission nor readers will necessarily share all the points of views expressed, but they will at least have the benefit of a full and frank discussion"--Unedited summary from book cover.