Although at the very beginning, the European Communities were financed by national contributions, it was already laid down in the founding Treaty of Rome of 1957 that this would only be for a transitional period and that the then EEC would have to be financed entirely by a system of own resources, rather than by national contributions.
Lai arī sākotnēji Eiropas Kopiena tika finansēta no nacionālām iemaksām, jau Romas jeb dibināšanas līgums, ko parakstīja 1957.gadā, paredzēja, ka tas būs tikai uz pārejas laiku un pēc tam Eiropas Ekonomikas kopiena (EEK) tiks finansēta pilnībā no pašu resursiem.