who were the original members of the eec and what was its purpose
European Economic Community The Community's initial aim was to bring about economic integration, including a common market and customs union, among its six founding members: Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. It gained a common set of institutions along with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) as one of the European Communities under the 1965 Merger Treaty (Treaty of Brussels). In 1993, a complete single market was achieved, known as the internal market, which allowed for the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people within the EEC. In 1994, the internal market was formalised by the EEA agreement. This agreement also extended the internal market to include most of the member states of the European Free Trade Association, forming the European Economic Area covering 15 countries.
United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975 The United Kingdom European Communities referendum of 1975, also known as the Common Market referendum and EEC membership referendum was non-binding referendum held on 5 June 1975 in the United Kingdom to gauge support for the country's continued membership of the European Communities (EC)—often known at the time as the "Common Market"—which it had entered on 1 January 1973 under the Conservative government of Edward Heath. Labour's manifesto for the October 1974 general election had promised that the people would decide "through the ballot box"[1] whether to remain in the EC.