<P> Two core functional treaties , the Treaty on European Union ( originally signed in Maastricht in 1992 ) and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( originally signed in Rome in 1957 as the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community ) , lay out how the EU operates , and there are a number of satellite treaties which are interconnected with them . The treaties have been repeatedly amended by other treaties over the 65 years since they were first signed . The consolidated version of the two core treaties is regularly published by the European Commission . </P>
basis of european union began with the signing of
the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union