France–Germany relations side deals; it created a customs union and established the rules needed to make the competition mechanism work properly. As a sequence of this, booming European economies, fired by Germany, led to the formation of the new customs union known as the European Economic Community (EEC). But it did not go well as the organization of Europe, because only the members of the coal and steel community 'ECSC' (" the six": Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany) joined the EEC. Seven of the remaining nations belonging to the Organization of European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) which administered the
Overseas country of France Caledonia, which has the unique status of a "sui generis" collectivity, is also sometimes incorrectly referred to as an overseas country. However, if the people of New Caledonia choose to remain part of France in a referendum on independence scheduled for November 2018, the community may become an overseas country. Overseas country of France Overseas country () is the designation for the overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. French Polynesia was an overseas territory until the constitutional reform on 28 March 2003 created the overseas collectivities. Then, on 27 February 2004 a law was passed giving French Polynesia the particular designation