The indirect way to get what you want has sometimes been called 'the second face of power.' [Aside from] threatening military force or economic sanctions, it is also important to set the agenda and attract others in world politics. This soft power - getting others to want the outcomes that you want - co-opts people rather than coerces them [and] rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others.[1] - Joseph Nye in Soft power: the means to success in world politics

Today, 25 March 2017, marks the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, one of the most important treaties in the long historical trend of European integration. The treaty led to the creation of a single market on 1 January 1958 between France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux with the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) overseen by the European Commission, an executive governmental body operating autonomous from the participating states.