ABSTRACT
In 1957, more than ten years after the end of the Second World War, a number of states joined forces to form a new alliance. These states resolved to replace the economic boundaries between them with common external boundaries and to establish an internal free market, the European Community. Initially, the implementation of their resolution was an uphill struggle, but in recent years the process has gained momentum and it seems likely that the free market will be realized, grosso modo, before the end of the twentieth century, having taken a total of less than fifty years.
