Treaty establishing the European Defence Community

Treaty of Paris

Treaty establishing the European Defence Community Dutch: Verdrag tot oprichting van de Europese Defensiegemeenschap French: Traité instituant la Communauté européenne de défense German: Vertrag zur Gründung der Europäischen Verteidigungsgemeinschaft Italian: Trattato istitutivo della Comunità Europea di Difesa
Ratification statuses in signatory states: Green (ratified), Blue (signed)
Type	Military pact
Context	European integration
Drafted	24 October 1950
Signed	27 May 1952
Location	Paris
Condition	Ratification by all founding states
Expiry	50 years after entry into effect
Parties	6  Belgium  France  West Germany  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands
Ratifiers	4 / 6
Depositary	Government of France
Full text
fr:Traité instituant la Communauté européenne de défense at Wikisource

The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community (EDC), also known as the Treaty of Paris,^[1] is a treaty of European integration, which upon entry into force would create a European defence force, with shared budget and joint procurement. This force would operate as an autonomous European pillar within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The treaty was signed on 27 May 1952 by Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and West Germany. Article 129 of the treaty allows for additional countries to join the community.

By 1954, four out of the six signatories had ratified the treaty. Ratification by France and Italy was not completed, after the French National Assembly voted for indefinite postponement of the process in 1954.^[2] The treaty was never formally annulled and ratification remains technically open for completion.^[3] Recent geopolitical developments—including the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the re-election of U.S. President Donald Trump in 2024—have renewed interest in the treaty. On 3 April 2025, a bill to ratify the EDC was introduced in both chambers of the Italian Parliament.^[4][5][2]