ABSTRACT
The European Community's and the European Investment Bank's financial interventions far beyond the Mediterranean area arise from the fact that when the six countries joined together to form the Community in 1957, their overseas interests remained unchanged. They still needed food and raw materials for their own manufactures from many countries outside the Mediterranean area. To a far greater extent than either the United States or the Comecon countries, the EEC economy rests on processing raw materials, many of them being imports from non-industrialised countries, and on selling the finished products for which non-industrialised countries represent an important market. Hence EEC states wanted to maintain existing economic and political links with colonies and former colonies. This was envisaged in the Treaty of Rome, under Article 130(a) and (c) to which the original six member states added a Declaration of Intent on:
the association of independent countries of the franc area within the EEC.
the kingdom of Libya.
