By studying the negotiations which led to the conclusion of the original Treaty of Rome and the creation of the European Economic Community, this informative book, based on recently released archival sources, analyses the Franco-German bargain which shaped the Community's initial framework and policies. This is not just another book about Franco-German relations and the founding of the European Union. It presents a new theoretical framework which relates the founding of the European Community to its later development. An attempt to apply the ideational framework of the original Community to later developments, such as the single market and the Treaty on European Union, finds that the Union is still shaped by many of the ideas of the founding fathers. Birthmarks of Europe will be useful to teachers and students of the history and politics of the European Union, as well as to those studying the dynamics of the development of other regional integration networks.