Treaties of the European Union the Functioning of the European Union (originally signed in Rome in 1957 as the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, aka The Treaty of Rome), lay out how the EU operates, and there are a number of satellite treaties which are interconnected with them. The treaties have been repeatedly amended by other treaties over the 65 years since they were first signed. The consolidated version of the two core treaties is regularly published by the European Commission. The two principal treaties on which the EU is based are the Treaty on European Union (TEU; Maastricht Treaty, effective since 1993) and
Treaty establishing the European Defence Community 1952, with French support. The new EDC treaty was signed on 27 May 1952. Although with some doubts and hesitation, the United States and the six members of the European Community approved the Pleven Plan. This led the way to the Paris Conference, launched in February 1951, where it was negotiated the structure of the supranational army. Among compromises and differences, on 27 May 1952 the six foreign ministers signed the Treaty of Paris establishing the European Defence Community (EDC). Despite the central role for France, the EDC plan collapsed when it failed to obtain ratification in the French Parliament.