EU leaders celebrate 60th anniversary of Treaty of Rome

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - The leaders of 27 EU countries have gathered in Rome Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni hosts the summit, which takes place at the Renaissance-era palace on the Capitoline Hill, where the founding six European members signed the Treaty of Rome.

The EU leaders of the attending countries are expected to adopt a declaration of intent for the upcoming decade.

Britain, whıch is to leave the EU, will not attend the summit.

On March 25, 1957, representatives of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands signed the Treaties of Rome which laid the foundations for the EU.

The representatives agreed to found an European Economic Community with the intention to remove barriers to trade, and to foster cooperation in the use of atomic energy.