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. In particular, that was proposed during the development of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe; however, it was decided to exclude Euratom from the legal personality of the new European Union, because of concerns that anti-nuclear sentiment in some member states would then be needlessly turned against the constitution.

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.
* Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) European NAvigator

Timeline

Evolution of the Structures of European Union
Category:International organizations
Category:Research
Atomic Energy Community
Category:Nuclear organizations