established—8 April 1965, effective 1 July 1967;

aim—a fusing of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), the European Coal and Steel Community (ESC), and the European Economic Community (EEC or Common Market); the EC plans to establish a completely integrated common market in 1992 and an eventual federation of Europe;

members—(12) Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK ————————————————————————————————————- _#_European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

established—4 January 1960, effective 3 May 1960;

aim—to promote expansion of free trade;

members—(7) Austria, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland ————————————————————————————————————- _#_European Investment Bank (EIB)

established—25 March 1957, effective 1 January 1958;

aim—to promote economic development of the EC;

members—(12) Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK ————————————————————————————————————- _#_European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)—acronym retained from the predecessor organization Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire;

established—1 July 1953, effective 29 September 1954;