EU environmental law

The Treaties

The EU was established through founding treaties between the original Member States. The treaties grant powers to the various EU institutions that together manage the Union. The European Economic Community (EEC, now the EU) was established through the Treaty of Rome in 1957 to enable Member States to harmonise and create economic benefits between Member States. In 1958, The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) was established alongside the EEC to create a specialist nuclear market in Europe.

In 1986, the Treaty of Rome was revised by the Single European Act (SEA) with the aim of establishing a single European market by 1992. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty (formerly the Treaty on the European Union) was signed by members of the European Community, which created the EU and adoption by some members of a single European currency, the euro.

In 2007, the Lisbon Treaty was signed. The Lisbon Treaty, which came into force 1 December 2009, amended the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Rome. The Treaty of Rome was renamed the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The Treaty of Lisbon reformed

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