Treaty of Rome in 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon renamed it the "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union". The TFEU originated as the treaty establishing the European Economic Community (the EEC treaty), signed in Rome on 25 March 1957. On 7 February 1992, the Maastricht treaty, which led to the formation of the European Union, saw the EEC Treaty renamed as the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC) and renumbered. The Maastricht reforms also saw the creation of the European Union's three pillar structure, of which the European Community was the major constituent part. Following the 2005 referenda, which saw the
European Economic Community the European Economic Area covering 15 countries. Upon the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993, the EEC was renamed the "European Community" to reflect that it covered a wider range than economic policy. This was also when the three European Communities, including the EC, were collectively made to constitute the first of the three pillars of the European Union, which the treaty also founded. The EC existed in this form until it was abolished by the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon, which incorporated the EC's institutions into the EU's wider framework and provided that the EU would "replace