Ever Closer Union: The legacy of the Treaties of Rome for Today’s Europe (1957-2017)

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Historical Archives of the European Union have prepared the exhibition: Ever Closer Union – The legacy of the Treaties of Rome for Today’s Europe (1957-2017), curated by the Alcide De Gasperi Research Centre and realised in collaboration with the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian News Agency ANSA. Here is presented a selection of the documents and images of the whole exhibition.

First edition of “Manifesto di Ventotene”, the Manifesto for a free and united Europe was drawn up by Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi in 1941 (Historical Archives of the European Union, Florence - HAEU)
Signature of the Treaties establishing the EEC and EURATOM, Rome, 25 March 1957 (Archives of the Council of the European Union, Brussels-ACEU)
Document from the joint research centre established by EURATOM as envisaged by the Treaty, to encourage collaboration between national scientific research centres particularly in the nuclear sphere (HAEU)
In January 1958 the first session of the European Commission began its work under the Presidency of Walter Hallstein (HAEU)
Information campaign organised by the European Parliament for the first direct elections held in June 1979 (HAEU) / Cover page of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004
Cover page of Commission “white paper” on the internal market, published for the European Council of Milan (28 - 29 June 1985) (HAEU) / On 1 January 2002 the Euro became the European single currency, adopted by the Member States of the EU that had previously joined the Economic and Monetary Union (HAEU)
Financial Times article on the creation of the Single market (HAEU) / Information brochure on the Economic and Monetary Union published by the European Commission in 1996, on the eve of the introduction of the single currency (HAEU)
Declaration by the Commission of the European Communities on the completion of the customs union between the six founding countries in 1968 (HAEU)
Report of the Legal Affairs Commission of the European Parliament on the creation of a European identity card, 12 February 1962 (HAEU)
One of the first official studies by the European Commission on the social situation in the Community, May 1959 (HAEU) / Text of the Social Action Programme introduced by the Community in 1974 spelling out the various initiatives in the social sector. It came into fruition in the second half of the 1970’s with the adoption of a directive on questions such as equal opportunities in the job market, health and safety in the workplace (HAEU)
Proposal for a Council decision on the adoption of the ERASMUS Programme, 1986 (HAEU) / An explanatory brochure of the ERASMUS Programme (HAEU) / Celebrations organised by the European Commission on reaching the landmark of 1 million ERASMUS students (HAEU)
First example of a European passport from 1953, issued by the President of the High Authority of the ECSC, Jean Monnet, to Community personnel (HAEU)
Plans for hydraulic works in Kenya financed by the EEC at the end of the 1970’s in the framework of the Development Cooperation Policy as laid down in the Lomé Treaty in 1975 (HAEU)
European Commission information document on various aspects of the Common Agricultural Policy following Greece’s entry to the Community, on 1 January 1981 (HAEU) / On the 24 June 1994, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Norway signed the EU Accession Treaty. However, Norwegian membership was rejected in a subsequent national referendum. The other three candidates became full members on 1 January 1995 (HAEU)
Brochure published by the European Commission to mark the tenth anniversary of the creation of the European Development Fund, main instrument for providing development aid (HAEU)
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the EEC became a bench mark for those countries involved in the delicate transition to the post-Communist era. In this letter, the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, expresses his gratitude to Jacques Delors for the humanitarian aid provided by the EU (HAEU)
Information note, dated 16 January 1996, on the role played by the EU in Bosnia Herzegovina in the aftermath of the Dayton Agreement (1995) that brought an end to the conflict in former Yugoslavia. After the inauguration of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU became a major player in the field of humanitarian assistance in war zones (HAEU)
Rescue operation conducted by the European Border and Coast Guard (FRONTEX) along the Libyan coast, 30 August 2014 (ANSA/ Giuseppe Lami) / Informal summit of the Heads of State and Government of the 28 Member States of the European Union at La Valletta (Malta), 3 February 2017. At the conclusion of the meeting, which focused on the strengthening of cooperation in dealing with illegal immigration to the EU, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, launched an appeal for unity between Member States: “United we stand, divided we fall” (EC Audiovisual Services/Etienne Ansot)
White Paper on the future of Europe adopted by the European Commission on 1 March 2017