Information sources about the EEC in the United Kingdom: 3. LAW AND TAXATION IN The EEC AND ITS MEMBER COUNTRIES

Although we have become used to talking about the Common Market, it is important to remember that there are three European Communities, namely the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community (colloquially known as the Common Market) and the European Atomic Energy Community. The precise nature of these Communities is a matter of controversy but it is sufficient to say that each of them is an association of States which have combined for certain purposes by means of a Treaty. Under each of the three treaties the parties enjoy certain rights and have undertaken to perform certain duties. Since the purposes are similar in the three cases and since the parties to the three treaties have so far been the same six countries (Belgium, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) it has been found convenient that the same common organs (the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission of the Communities, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities) should direct, supervise, administer and control the exercise of the rights and performance of the duties arising from the three treaties. This will remain so, although the four candidate countries (Denmark, the Irish Republic, Norway and the United Kingdom) will be members of the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community only. This means that the rights and duties arising from membership of the European Coal and Steel Community will not apply to the candidate countries. In practice, the European Economic Community has overshadowed the other two and in what follows I shall refer to the EEC only. In so far as the law relating to the other two Communities is relevant for my present purpose, it can be found in the same sources as that of the Economic Community.