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History of the European Communities (1973-1993)
Encyclopedia
Between 1973 and 1993 the European Communities saw the first enlargement of the Communities and increasing integration under the Delors Commission
leading to the creation of the European Union
in 1993.
On 1 January 1973, Denmark
, Ireland
, and the United Kingdom
became the first countries to join the Communities. The newly enlarged Ortoli Commission
took office under François-Xavier Ortoli
on 5 January. The first Commission to be led by a member from the new states was the Jenkins Commission
, of the UK's Roy Jenkins
who held office between 1977 and 1981. Following on was the Thorn Commission
, which oversaw the completion of the customs union
and then 1985 saw the first Delors Commission
.
The Treaties of Rome had stated that the European Parliament
must be directly elected, however this required the Council
to agree on a common voting system first. The Council procrastinated on the issue and the Parliament remained appointed, French President Charles de Gaulle
was particularly active in blocking the development of the Parliament, with it only being granted Budgetary powers following his resignation.
Parliament pressured for agreement and on 20 September 1976 the Council agreed part of the necessary instruments for election, deferring details on electoral systems which remain varied to this day. During the tenure of President Jenkins
, in June 1979, the elections were held in all the then-members. 410 MEPs were elected and at their first meeting they elected a new President of the European Parliament
; Simone Veil
, a French
liberal
who was the first woman to be elected to the post.
The new Parliament, galvanised by direct election and new powers, started working full time and became more active than the previous assemblies. The elections also helped cement the political groups and, despite attempts by the larger groups to consolidate their position, smaller parties began to co-operate and form alliances. In the subsequent elections (1984
and 1989
) the electorate expanded to include new member states and the left wing parties saw increasing electoral gains. However, turnout began to drop from 63% in 1979 to 58% in 1989.
Greece, already an associate member (the first) since 1961, applied to join the community on 12 June 1975 following the restoration of democracy. It joined on 1 January 1981. In 1985, after gaining home rule from Denmark, Greenland
left the community following a referendum but remained an overseas territory.
Following on from Greece, and after their own democratic restoration, Spain and Portugal applied to the communities in 1977. They joined together on 1 January 1986. In 1987 Turkey
formally applies to join the Community and begins the longest application process for any country.
the door to enlargement to the former eastern bloc was opened. In response leaders gathered in Copenhagen
on 22 June 1993 to define entry condition for candidate states. This criteria was later included in the Maastricht Treaty
. The following is an except from the criteria;
and the Hague respectively. In a single document it dealt with reform of institutions, extension of powers, foreign policy cooperation and the single market. It came into force on 1 July 1987.
The act was influenced by work on what would be the Maastricht Treaty, the Treaty establishing the European Union
. There had previously been plans to create a more integrated body and, spurred on by enlargement, various groups put forward plans. Building on the legitimacy of its elections, in 1984 the Parliament produced the Spinelli
plan. The draft treaty establishing a European Union, which was inspired by the failed European Political Community
, was adopted by the Parliament 237 votes to 31 (43 abstentions). It would have given a more federal structure using the community method and codecision with the parliament, however it failed to win the support of the member states. (See also: Crocodile Club
)
Similar proposals from the Commission collapsed due to arguments over the UK rebate
(secured by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
in 1984) and a German-Italian proposal resulted in the Solemn Declaration on European Union
of 19 June 1983 as a political impetus towards a Union but not itself a binding treaty. A treaty establishing the European Union was eventually agreed on the 10 December 1991 and signed on the 7 February of the following year. Denmark lost a referendum on ratification but succeeded in a second attempt after securing four opt-outs. The Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993.
' Commission, serving from 1985 to 1994, is regarded as the most successful in history, becoming a frequent source of comparison to his successors.
Delors presided over accession of Spain and Portugal, the fall of Communism with the reunification of Germany in 1990, the adoption of the European flag
, the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, the beginnings of EMU
, the signing of the Schengen Agreement
(19 June 1990) and the completion of the single market
.
Delors Commission
The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided...
leading to the creation of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
in 1993.
On 1 January 1973, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
became the first countries to join the Communities. The newly enlarged Ortoli Commission
Ortoli Commission
The Ortoli Commission is the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1973 to 5 January 1977. Its President was François-Xavier Ortoli.-Work:...
took office under François-Xavier Ortoli
François-Xavier Ortoli
François-Xavier Ortoli was a French Gaullist politician and businessman. He served with the Free French Forces during World War II and was decorated with the Croix de guerre, Médaille militaire and Médaille de la Résistance...
on 5 January. The first Commission to be led by a member from the new states was the Jenkins Commission
Jenkins Commission (EU)
The Jenkins Commission is the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1977 to 6 January 1981. Its President was Roy Jenkins.-Work:It was the successor to the Ortoli Commission and was succeeded by the Thorn Commission...
, of the UK's Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
who held office between 1977 and 1981. Following on was the Thorn Commission
Thorn Commission
The Thorn Commission was the European Commission that held office from 6 January 1981 until 5 January 1985. Its President was Gaston Thorn.-Work:...
, which oversaw the completion of the customs union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...
and then 1985 saw the first Delors Commission
Delors Commission
The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided over the European Commission for three terms The Delors Commission was the administration of Jacques Delors, the 8th President of the European Commission. Delors presided...
.
First elections
The Treaties of Rome had stated that the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
must be directly elected, however this required the Council
Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...
to agree on a common voting system first. The Council procrastinated on the issue and the Parliament remained appointed, French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
was particularly active in blocking the development of the Parliament, with it only being granted Budgetary powers following his resignation.
Parliament pressured for agreement and on 20 September 1976 the Council agreed part of the necessary instruments for election, deferring details on electoral systems which remain varied to this day. During the tenure of President Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, in June 1979, the elections were held in all the then-members. 410 MEPs were elected and at their first meeting they elected a new President of the European Parliament
President of the European Parliament
The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...
; Simone Veil
Simone Veil
Simone Veil, DBE is a French lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Health under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the European Parliament and member of the Constitutional Council of France....
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
liberal
European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party
The European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party is a European political party mainly active in the European Union, composed of 56 national-level liberal and liberal-democratic parties from across Europe...
who was the first woman to be elected to the post.
The new Parliament, galvanised by direct election and new powers, started working full time and became more active than the previous assemblies. The elections also helped cement the political groups and, despite attempts by the larger groups to consolidate their position, smaller parties began to co-operate and form alliances. In the subsequent elections (1984
European Parliament election, 1984
The 1984 election to the European Parliament was the first since the inaugural election of 1979 and the 1981 enlargement of the European Community to include Greece. It was also the last before the accession of Spain and Portugal in 1987....
and 1989
European Parliament election, 1989
The 1989 European Parliamentary Election was a European election held across the 12 European Community member states in June 1989. It was third European election but the first time that Spain and Portugal voted at the same time as the other members...
) the electorate expanded to include new member states and the left wing parties saw increasing electoral gains. However, turnout began to drop from 63% in 1979 to 58% in 1989.
Further enlargement
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
left the community following a referendum but remained an overseas territory.
Following on from Greece, and after their own democratic restoration, Spain and Portugal applied to the communities in 1977. They joined together on 1 January 1986. In 1987 Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
formally applies to join the Community and begins the longest application process for any country.
Copenhagen criteria
Following the fall of the iron curtainIron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
the door to enlargement to the former eastern bloc was opened. In response leaders gathered in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
on 22 June 1993 to define entry condition for candidate states. This criteria was later included in the Maastricht Treaty
Maastricht Treaty
The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty...
. The following is an except from the criteria;
Treaties
The Single European Act was signed by the foreign ministers on the 17 and 28 February 1986 in LuxembourgLuxembourg (city)
The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
and the Hague respectively. In a single document it dealt with reform of institutions, extension of powers, foreign policy cooperation and the single market. It came into force on 1 July 1987.
The act was influenced by work on what would be the Maastricht Treaty, the Treaty establishing the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. There had previously been plans to create a more integrated body and, spurred on by enlargement, various groups put forward plans. Building on the legitimacy of its elections, in 1984 the Parliament produced the Spinelli
Altiero Spinelli
Altiero Spinelli was an Italian political theorist and a European federalist. Spinelli is referred to as one of the "Founding Fathers of the European Union" due to his co-authorship of the Ventotene Manifesto, his founding role in the European federalist movement, his strong influence on the first...
plan. The draft treaty establishing a European Union, which was inspired by the failed European Political Community
European Political Community
The European Political Community was proposed in 1952 as a combination of the existing European Coal and Steel Community and the proposed European Defence Community...
, was adopted by the Parliament 237 votes to 31 (43 abstentions). It would have given a more federal structure using the community method and codecision with the parliament, however it failed to win the support of the member states. (See also: Crocodile Club
Crocodile Club
The Crocodile Club was an informal group of members of the European Parliament that favoured greater European integration, to the extent of a European federation, and greater powers to the European Parliament....
)
Similar proposals from the Commission collapsed due to arguments over the UK rebate
UK rebate
The UK rebate is a rebate on the United Kingdom's contribution to the EU budget paid back to the UK government by the European Union.-History:...
(secured by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
in 1984) and a German-Italian proposal resulted in the Solemn Declaration on European Union
Solemn Declaration on European Union
The Solemn Declaration on European Union was signed by the then 10 heads of state and government on 19 June 1983, in Stuttgart.In November 1981 the German and Italian Governments submitted to the Member States a draft European Act designed to further European integration...
of 19 June 1983 as a political impetus towards a Union but not itself a binding treaty. A treaty establishing the European Union was eventually agreed on the 10 December 1991 and signed on the 7 February of the following year. Denmark lost a referendum on ratification but succeeded in a second attempt after securing four opt-outs. The Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993.
Delors era
Jacques DelorsJacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...
' Commission, serving from 1985 to 1994, is regarded as the most successful in history, becoming a frequent source of comparison to his successors.
Delors presided over accession of Spain and Portugal, the fall of Communism with the reunification of Germany in 1990, the adoption of the European flag
European flag
The flag of Europe consists of a circle of 12 golden stars on an azure background. It is the flag and emblem of the European Union and Council of Europe . It is also often used to indicate eurozone countries, and, more loosely, to represent the continent of Europe or the countries of Europe...
, the Single European Act, the Maastricht Treaty, the beginnings of EMU
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of members of the European Union in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the euro. As such, it is largely synonymous with the eurozone.All member states of the...
, the signing of the Schengen Agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
(19 June 1990) and the completion of the single market
Single market
A single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production and of enterprise and services. The goal is that the movement of capital, labour, goods, and services between the members...
.
See also
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- ConcordeConcordeAérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...
- Solidarity
- Berlin WallBerlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
- Common European HomeCommon European HomeThe "Common European Home" was a concept created and espoused by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.The concept has some antecedents in Brezhnev's foreign policy, who used the phrase during a visit to Bonn in 1981. However, at this time it was likely used in an attempt to sow discord...
- European Economic CommunityEuropean Economic CommunityThe European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...