Germany’s ambassador to the United States, Klaus Scharioth, will be in Atlanta on Tuesday, March 27, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome that formed the European Economic Community.

Hans-Joerg Brunner, Germany’s consul general in Atlanta, announced the ambassador’s upcoming visit during a ceremony at the Centennial Olympic Park on March 2 for a visiting delegation from the German state of Saxony.

During the ceremony, Peter Schwarzenbauer, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America Inc., received a proclamation from the city of Atlanta announcing “Porsche Day.”

Porsche Cayennes are manufactured in Leipzig, the largest city in Saxony, and the latest 2008 SUV model went on sale throughout the U.S. March 3.

Mr. Brunner said that Porsche will serve as the official host of the German ambassador’s visit to Atlanta, which will include attending events of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S.

Mr. Scharioth also is scheduled to meet with Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.

The Treaty of Rome was signed on March 25, 1957, and then later amended by the Treaty of Maastricht on Feb. 7, 1992, which is also known as the European Union Treaty, replacing the Treaty of Rome.

The European Economic Community, later called the European Community, included Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany in an agreement for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor and the development of joint policies on agriculture, labor, social welfare, trade and transport. The community members eventually consolidated economic and political policies to form the European Union, which continues to add new member countries.

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