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In-Depth Information
echoed sentiments expressed following the end
of the Second World War some 45 years earlier.
Mikhail Gorbachev's 1989 speech to the Council
of Europe, calling for a higher union in the
'Common European House' (Mayhew, 1998)
was reminiscent of Winston Churchill's 1946
'United States of Europe' speech. This had
helped to crystallize thinking towards a time
when all Europeans would see themselves as
part of a peaceful whole (Danta and Hall, 2000).
Such ideas of a united Europe were the inspira-
tion that led, via the setting up of the Benelux
customs union in 1948, to Jean Monnet and
Robert Schuman's 1950 plan for an alliance
between France and Germany that established
the first instruments of European integration:
and Development: OECD), the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO, founded 1949),
the Western European Union (WEU, founded
1954), and the Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe (OSCE, founded 1973).
The main institution's name has changed
over time, to some extent reflecting the evolving
nature of its role and objectives. The EEC - also
generally known as the 'Common Market' after
a customs union came into effect in 1968 -
Euratom, and the ECSC combined during the
1980s to form the 'European Community' (EC).
In 1993 the Community underwent a major
reorganization which subsumed, but did not
replace, the EC; the new name became the
'European Union' (EU).
Two broad courses of action that have
characterized the EEC, EC and EU have been
those of 'deepening' and 'widening'. The first
goal has involved mechanisms aimed at bring-
ing member countries into closer economic,
political, administrative, and security 'align-
ment'. Key dates and processes seeking this
objective have included the following.
European
Coal
and
Steel
Community
●
(ECSC), established in 1951;
European Atomic Energy Community
(Euratom), established in 1957;
●
European Economic Community (EEC),
also established in 1957 and which came
into effect in January, 1958.
●
Alongside the EEC a number of complementary
bodies were established to further its goals:
1951:
Treaty
of
Paris
established
the
●
European
Coal
and
Steel
Community
European
Commission,
to
handle
the
(ECSC).
●
bureaucracy
involved
in
running
the
1957: Treaties of Rome established the
EEC and Euratom.
●
institution;
Council of Ministers, as the main decision-
making body with responsibility for broad
policy formation and implementation,
with a Council Presidency rotating every
6 months;
1962: Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
launched.
●
●
1968: completion of Customs Union.
●
1975: European Council formed.
●
1979: European Monetary System begun.
●
European Parliament, to provide a demo-
cratic forum for debate and to operate as a
watchdog;
1986: Single European Act, which set the
goal of creating a single market by 1993.
●
●
1993: Treaty on European Union (TEU),
also known as the Maastricht Treaty, set
the goals of achieving monetary union by
1999; new common economic policies;
European citizenship; common foreign and
security policy; and common policy on
internal security.
●
European Court of Justice, to hear cases
involving member states;
●
European Council of heads of states meeting
at least twice yearly to discuss issues before
the Community (and later Union); and
●
the Committee of the Regions, to bring local
concerns to the attention of the Council.
●
1997: Treaty of Amsterdam covering
aspects of justice and home affairs.
●
Most functions are carried out in Brussels, but
with
1999: Launch of a common monetary
policy and single currency, the euro.
●
Luxembourg
and
Strasbourg
also
as
important centres of activity.
The Community set out to work closely
with other European organizations, such as the
Organization for European Co-operation (later
the Organization for Economic Co-operation
The process of deepening was largely
driven by an agenda which, although to some
extent put on hold in the 1970s, was revived
through
the
Single
European
Act
and
the
