The Treaty of Rome - a podcast by BBC World Service

The treaty which established the European Economic Community was signed by six countries in 1957 - France, West Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. It was hoped that European countries would never go to war again, if they were tied together by economic interests. The treaty formed the basis for what is now the European Union.

Photo: European leaders at the Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images

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