The Treaty of Rome, 60 Years later – A History of Successes and Failures

Abstract

The Treaty of Rome of 25 March 1957 established the European Economic Community and with it different kinds of norms and policies. Since then, much has happened and 60 years later some of these norms and policies can be seen as a success, while others are more properly described as failures. This thesis will first give an overview of the history of the European integration, from the Schuman Declaration to the Treaty of Rome, to then analyze the common commercial policy and the freedom of movement for workers as two policies of success, and the abolition of the gender pay gap and Brexit as two cases of failure. It will then describe the human rights policy of the European Union as a case presenting both elements of success as well as elements of failure. Finally, the conclusion will try to clarify whether the project of European integration, started with the Treaty of Rome, on the whole might be more properly described as a success or as a failure.