European Atomic Energy Community

April 1, 1957, Konrad Adenauer, Walter Hallstein and Antonio Segni, signing the European customs union and Euratom in Rome, Italy.

The Common Assembly proposed extending the powers of the European Coal and Steel Community to cover other sources of energy. However, Jean Monnet, ECSC architect and President, wanted a separate community to cover nuclear power. Louis Armand was put in charge of a study into the prospects of nuclear energy use in Europe; his report concluded that further nuclear development was needed to fill the deficit left by the exhaustion of coal deposits and to reduce dependence on oil producers. However, the Benelux states and Germany were also keen on creating a general single market, although it was opposed by France due to its protectionism, and Jean Monnet thought it too large and difficult a task. In the end, Monnet proposed the creation of separate atomic energy and economic communities to reconcile both groups.[5]

The Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at the Château of Val-Duchesse in 1956 drew up the essentials of the new treaties. Euratom would foster co-operation in the nuclear field, at the time a very popular area, and would, along with the EEC, share the Common Assembly and Court of Justice of the ECSC, but not its executives. Euratom would have its own Council and Commission, with fewer powers than the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community. On 25 March 1957, the Treaties of Rome (the Euratom Treaty and the EEC Treaty) were signed by the ECSC members and on 1 January 1958 they came into force.[6][7][8]

To save on resources, these separate executives created by the Rome Treaties were merged in 1965 by the Merger Treaty. The institutions of the EEC would take over responsibilities for the running of the ECSC and Euratom, with all three then becoming known as the European Communities even if each legally existed separately. In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union, which absorbed the Communities into the European Community pillar, yet Euratom still maintained a distinct legal personality.

The European Constitution was intended to consolidate all previous treaties and increase democratic accountability in them. The Euratom treaty had not been amended as the other treaties had, so the European Parliament had been granted few powers over it. However, the reason it had gone unamended was the same reason the Constitution left it to remain separate from the rest of the EU: anti-nuclear sentiment among the European electorate, which may unnecessarily turn voters against the treaty.[9][10][11] The Euratom treaty thus remains in force relatively unamended from its original signing.

This overall timeline includes the establishment and development of Euratom, and shows that currently it is the only former EC body that has not been incorporated into the EU.

European Union
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the European Union
Member States (27)  Austria  Belgium  Bulgaria  Croatia  Cyprus  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Ireland  Italy  Latvia  Lithuania  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  Poland  Portugal  Romania  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden Candidate countries for EU Accession Albania Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Turkey Special member state territories France–Germany relations EU 3 Withdrawal from the European Union European Union since 31 January 2020
Treaties Treaty of Paris (1951) Treaty of Rome (1957) Euratom Treaty (1957) Merger Treaty (1965) Single European Act (1986) Maastricht Treaty (1992) Amsterdam Treaty (1997) Treaty of Nice (2001) Treaty of Lisbon (2007) Article 7 Article 50 Opt-outs Treaties of Accession 1972, 1979, 1985, 1994, 2003, 2005, 2011 Treaties of Succession 1984, 2020 Other Treaties Schengen Agreement (1985) EEA Agreement (1992) Abandoned treaties and agreements European Constitution (2004) UK renegotiation of EU membership (2015-16)
Executive European Council President: Michel (ALDE) Parties List of meetings European Commission Von der Leyen Commission President: Von der Leyen (EPP) Vice Presidents College of Commissioners Civil Service Secretary-General: Juhansone
Legislature Legislative procedure Council of the EU Presidency Croatia (January - June 2020) Configurations General Foreign Economic Eurogroup Justice and Home Voting Secretariat Secretary-General: Uwe Corsepius Directorates-general COREPER European Parliament (Members) President: Sassoli (S&D) Largest groups EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Iratxe García) Member of the European Parliament 9th session (2019–24) Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference National parliaments
Judiciary Court of Justice of the EU Court of Justice Members Rulings General Court
Euro Eurozone Members Austria Belgium Cyprus Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Eurogroup President Mário Centeno European Central Bank President Lagarde ESCB EMU Banking Union CMU Euro banknotes Euro coins Eurozone since 2015
Schengen Area Schengen Area Member States Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland (non-EU state) Italy Latvia Liechtenstein (non-EU state) Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway (non-EU state) Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland (non-EU state) Prüm Convention Schengen Information System Visa Information System Visa policy of the Schengen Area Schengen Area since 2015
European Economic Area EEA Members Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland (non-EU state) Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein (non-EU state) Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway (non-EU state) Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom (non-EU state) Gibraltar EEA Joint Committee EEA National Identity cards Microstates and the European Union European Economic Area
Court of Auditors Budget OLAF
Other Bodies European Atomic Energy Community Agencies Investment Bank CoR EESC Ombudsman Former European Bodies European Communities (1958-1993) European Coal and Steel Community European Economic Community
Elections 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 2019 (last election) European political parties Constituencies Elections in EU Member States Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Referendums relating to the EU
Law Acquis Primacy Subsidiarity Regulation Directive Decision Fundamental Rights
Policies and Issues Budget Customs Union Free Trade Agreements European Single Market Area of FS&J Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Passports of the European Union Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism Integration Supranationalism Federalism United States of Europe Enhanced co-op
Other Other currencies in use Bulgarian lev Croatian kuna Czech koruna Danish krone Hungarian forint Polish złoty Romanian leu Swedish krona ERM II Enlargement of the Eurozone Bulgaria and the euro Croatia and the euro Czech Republic and the euro Denmark and the euro Hungary and the euro Poland and the euro Sweden and the euro Romania and the euro Non-Schengen Area States Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Ireland Romania Common Travel Area (Ireland) Multi-speed Europe
Foreign Relations High Representative Josep Borrell Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy Foreign relations of EU Member States Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Norway–European Union relations Switzerland–European Union relations United States-European Union relations European Union–United Kingdom relations (History) Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union) Brexit Microstates and the European Union European Union and the United Nations European Union Association Agreement G7 G20
European Union portal Other countries

• Since 2014, Switzerland has participated in Euratom programmes as an associated state.[2]
• As of 2020, the community had Co-operation Agreements of various scopes with nine countries: Armenia, Australia, Canada, Japan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, United States, Uzbekistan, and South Africa.[12][13]

The United Kingdom announced its intention to withdraw from the EAEC on 26 January 2017, following on from its decision to withdraw from the European Union.[12][14][15][16] Formal notice to withdraw from the EAEC was provided in March 2017, within the Article 50 notification letter, where the withdrawal was made explicit.[17] Withdrawal only became effective following negotiations on the terms of the exit, which lasted two years and ten months.

A report by the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, published in May 2017, questioned the legal necessity of leaving Euratom and called for a temporary extension of membership to allow time for new arrangements to be made.[18]

In June 2017, the European Commission's negotiations task force published a Position paper transmitted to EU27 on nuclear materials and safeguard equipment (Euratom), titled "Essential Principles on nuclear materials and safeguard equipment".[19] The following month, a briefing paper from the House of Commons Library assessed the implications of leaving Euratom.[20]

In 2017, an article in The Independent questioned availability of nuclear fuel to the UK after 2019 if the UK were to withdraw, and the need for new treaties relating to the transportation of nuclear materials.[21] A 2017 article in the New Scientist stated that radioisotope supply for cancer treatments would also need to be considered in new treaties.[22]

UK politicians speculated that the UK could stay in Euratom. In 2017, some argued that this would require – beyond the consent of the EU27 – amendment or revocation of the Article 50 letter of March 2017.[23]

The Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018, making provision for safeguards after withdrawal from Euratom, received royal assent on 26 June 2018.[24]

In the history of European regulation, Article 37 of the Euratom Treaty represents pioneering legislation concerning binding transfrontier obligations with respect to environmental impact and protection of humans.[25]

The five member Commission was led by only three presidents while it had independent executives (1958–1967), all from France:

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

• EU Directorate General Joint Research Centre – often incorrectly referred to as Euratom due to EURATOM being its origin.
• Energy Community
• Energy policy of the European Union
• History of the European Union
• Institutions of the European Union
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• Nuclear energy in the European Union
• The nuclear part of the Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development, the European Union's chief instrument for funding research.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to European Atomic Energy Community.

• Official website
• Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM)
• Documents of the European Atomic Energy Community are consultable at the Historical Archives of the EU in Florence
• History of the Rome Treaties Online collection by the CVCE
• European Commission Fusion Research
• European Commission Fission Research