Rome Protocols

[1] The Rome Protocols, even though they dealt only with economic development, were part of the process of co-operation between the three signatory governments against the revisionist policies of Adolf Hitler, who had just come to power in Germany, as well as against the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, which they wished to dismember among themselves.

The protocols' co-operation was short-lived since in 1938, Mussolini allowed Hitler to invade Austria, and the Hungarian government, led by Miklós Horthy, also supported the Third Reich that year.

Protocol No 1 was very brief and contained no clauses but only a brief statement in which the signatories undertook "To confer together on all problems which particularly concern them, and on problems of a general character, with a view to pursuing, in the spirit of the existing treaties of friendship between Italy and Austria, Italy and Hungary and Austria and Hungary, which are based on a recognition of the existence of numerous common interests, a concordant policy directed towards the promotion of effective co-operation between the States of Europe and particularly between Italy, Austria and Hungary".

In Article 1 the three governments undertook not to place any obstacles to trade between them and to conclude commercial treaties to that effect.

In Article 3, the parties undertook to facilitate the rapid transit of goods through the ports of the Adriatic Sea.