Jean Monnet in order to revive European construction following the failure of the European Defence Community (EDC). It brought political parties and European trade unions together to become a driving force behind the initiatives which laid the foundation for the European Union as it eventually emerged: first the European Economic Community (EEC) (1958) (known commonly as the "Common Market"), which was established by the Treaty of Rome of 1957; later the European Community (1967) with its corresponding bodies, the European Commission and the European Council of Ministers, British membership in the Community (1973), the European Council (1974), the European Monetary System (1979),
Special member state territories and the European Union lodged by the United Kingdom with the EEC in 1982, Gibraltarians were to be counted as British nationals for the purposes of Community law. This was notwithstanding that they were not, at the time, British citizens, but were British Overseas Territories citizens with the right to be registered as British citizens. As such, Gibraltarians have enjoyed European Community treaty rights since UK's accession to the European Community, and subsequently European Union citizenship since the Maastricht Treaty. It was not until 21 May 2002 when Gibraltarians who did not apply for British citizenship were automatically granted British citizenship while still retaining