Session 7' 19821992, the European Single Act and Maastricht

1
Session 7. 1982-1992, the European Single Act and
Maastricht
2
1981-1986

• A new relaunch in the 1980s
• Steps towards economic harmonization
• A new Franco-German couple Francois Mitterrand,
  Helmut Kohl
• 1986
• The European Single Act
• The enlargement to Spain and Portugal

3
The situation at the beginning of the 1980s

• Economic crisis 2nd oil crisis in 1979,
  fluctuation
• Britains contribution to the budget Thatcher
  brings it again in 1979-1980
• A resurgence of the Cold War and problems with
  the United States
• 1979. war in Afghanistan, differences of
  appreciations between the US and European
  leaderships
• Public opinions in Europe are reactive to
  anti-Americanism, talks of Finlandization
• Questions on the goal of the European integration
  process the 1970s seem to have been the burial
  of the political aspect of European integration
• Financial resources
• Enlargement and institutions

4
The second wave of enlargement, 1975-1981

• Progression nonetheless, around classical lines
• Enlargement
• New areas of cooperation
• Strengthening of the institutions and
  achievement of the Single Market
• Fine tuning between supranationality and
  intergovernmentality
• Economic questions
• Budget

5
The accession of Greece (1981), Spain and
Portugal (1986)?

• Enlargement comes from the 1970s
• Greece asks in June 1975
• Portugal and Spain in March and July 1975
• Pros and cons of enlargement
• Difficult negotiations
• They happen at the same time when the
  member-states discuss about the European Single
  Act
• The Turkey dilemma poor countries, questions
  over democratization, economic problems of
  competition, institutional problems, etc
• Compromises are found on technical issues
• Treaties signed with Spain and Portugal in June
  1985

6
1981-1984 Francois Mitterrands European Turn

• François Mitterrand is elected president in 1981
• Personal convictions evolve in the beginning of
  the 1980s
• Excellent contacts with Helmut Kohl, that ease
  matters
• Kohls European convictions are different from
  Adenauers line, but Western Integration remains
  the line
• 1983-1984 economic and political choice
• The debate presents things to Mitterrand as a
  choice between Keynesian policies that run the
  risk to put France at odds with its European
  partners, and restrictive economic policies
  drawing France to the European mainstream.
  Keynesianism or monetarism? National control over
  the economy or European coordination?
• The debate is more complex, and there would have
  been a third way. Yet it is a matter of
  perceptions on Mitterrands part
• Mitterrand makes a political and economic choice
  in 1983-1984
• Embracing Europe, a political goal for it,
  monetarism, liberalization and the Social
  Europe, cooperation with the United States (It
  is not my fault if, in these debates, I observe
  that the pacifists are on the west, and the
  missiles are on the east of the continent)

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Three sources for the relaunch

• A context France and Western Germany on the same
  economic line after 1984, a political will
• Two European forces
• The Commission
• A commission under Jacques Delors from 1985 on.
  The commission remains a pole of supranationality
  and common policies, and Delors is ready to take
  a strong role Impeccable technical credentials,
  and a will to make Europe work for common and
  French interests. A major element in the 1980s
  relaunch
• The Parliament
• After 1979, the Parliament has gained a measure
  of political legitimacy a new maturity, a
  possibility to propose
• Lobbies for a European political project
• The essential element the member-states
• Western Germany
• Helmut Kohl in October 1982
• few incentives, but a diffuse political will, an
  active minority
• France France holds in 1984 the roving
  presidency of the communities
• Italy and others will follow a lead given by
  Paris and Bonn

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Projects for a strengthening of institutions

• Projects drawn already before 1984
• June 1981, Head of the commission Gaston Thorns
  project
• Consulted on the British contribution crisis, he
  proposes a plan of institutional reforms reform
  the CAP, give the Communities own resources,
  promote common policies
• The classical agenda of relaunch More, and
  better (new areas of cooperation, more efficiency
  to the system, solving common problems)
• Summer of 1981, the Genscher-Colombo project
• A proposal for a reshuffling of the treaties
  majority voting, a political dimension, integrate
  security, improve political cooperation,
  strengthen the Parliament, etc
• A western-German and Italian tradition of
  political European integration (the activity of
  minorities, attached to the project
  Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Emilio Colombo)
• Give a political dimension to the European
  communities
• Italian motivation is strong Italy needs Europe,
  and there is a long-standing tradition of support
  for political integration
• European Council of Stuttgart, 1984
• Altiero Spinelli, Pierre Pflimlin and the club of
  the Crocodile
• coming in 1981 from the Parliament, a project of
  political integration and reform of the Rome
  treaties
• Voted by the Parliament in February 1984
• Emphasizes subsidiarity the Communities should
  act where they are more efficient than the
  states

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1984 and the relaunch

• Relaunching the process in 1984
• Kohl/Mitterrand (Verdun, September 1984)
• Mitterrands speech in May 1984, in Strasbourg
• Interpreted as the endorsement of previous
  projects to reform the system

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Fontainebleau, Milan, 1984-1985

• Fontainebleau, June 1984 Milan, June 1985 Two
  European Council of Heads of States
• Mitterrand and Kohl defend more and more a
  European Single Act as outlined by the
  Genscher-Colombo project
• Issues
• The CAP a limited reform saving money
• The British contribution is limited to appease
  Thatcher
• The communities own resources augment, to allow
  ambitious common policies
• A committee led by the Irish James Dooge proposes
  the creation of a real political entity, a
  European Union
• Disputes in Milan
• GB, Denmark, Greece are against a political
  deepening
• Italy, the Benelux, Western Germany are for more
  political integration and efficiency
• France also, with reservation linked to the
  budget and the CAP

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1985-1986 the European Single Act

• The surge forward comes from Italian (Bettino
  Craxi), French and Western German efforts
• September 9th 1985 intergovernmental conference
  of Luxemburg opens
• A monumental task redrawing the treaties,
  envisioning an act of political union
• February 17th-28th 1986 The European Single Act
• Two parts first one in Luxemburg, second one in
  the Hague
• From Common market to Single market the
  achievement of the project
• Progressive realization of an economic and
  monetary union
• Extension of the communities competences in
  various domains political matters for example
• A declaration on European political cooperation
• Institutional division of Labour is shifted a bit
  from the equilibrium of the compromise of
  Luxemburg the supranational level gets a bit
  more capacity to work independently from the
  states majority voting is extended to several
  domains the Commission gets vast competencies,
  the Parliament gets a measure of control
• The emergence of the system as we know it the
  Commission executes and proposes, the European
  Council of Heads of States and the Council of
  Ministers decides, the Parliament controls, the
  Court of Justice judges. Co-decision will change
  a bit that at the end of the 1990s

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A compromise, unexpected but divisive

• The Act is not enough for the advocates of
  federalism, but it is a compromise between two
  groups inside Europe
• A status quo that will last until 1992
• The Single Act concretized the commitments of the
  1950s
• Lift the last obstacles to trade and circulation
  of persons, the last non tariff barriers, etc
• Gave a new, more liberal direction to the
  process the European level will be mostly used
  to legislate in new areas for the states
  (environment, equality, etc), but also to favor
  the liberalization of vast sectors of economic
  life More strict control of state subsidies,
  dismantlement of public monopolies, etc In the
  name of free competition at the level of a
  European market
• The commission has acted as a political
  entrepreneur, with a project of liberalization
  yet, it has been able to do that because a vast
  majority of the member-states supported this
  project after the middle-1980s. The end of
  Keynesian economics is the doing of the states.
• European integration does not have its own
  ideology it reflects the dominant view of the
  governments. In the 1950s, the dominant view was
  controlling the market and public regulation of
  key sectors. Since the 1980s, it has been
  deregulation, free competition, liberalization
• The Act as a political and economic promise

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From the Single Act (1986) to Maastricht (1992)?

• Economic and Financial cooperation
• Political union
• The end of the Cold War (1989-1991)?

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• New phase in the 1980s
• Maastricht 1992 as another step
• Common currency
• Foreign policy and defense coordination

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First round the CAP, the budget and Jacques
Delors, 1987-1988

• The completion of the Single Market
• The CAP
• 1987 crisis on the Budget
• 1987, the commission of Jacques Delors proposes a
  plan to save money in the CAP
• Only Great-Britain satisfied
• European Council of Brussels, February 1988
• gtThe Delors package

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Second round the Delors project of economic and
monetary union

• The European Council of Hanover, June 27th 1988
• Delorss project of European Economic and
  Monetary Union
• Reactions of the member-states
• The decision in adopting the Single Act, the
  Member States of the Community confirmed the
  objective of progressive realisation of economic
  and monetary union."
• A committee set under Jacques Delors with "the
  task of studying and proposing concrete steps
  leading towards this union."

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The Delors committee and report

• April 17th 1988, the Delors report
• Introduce a European Monetary Union in three
  steps
• A European level of economic leadership
• Mitigated reception
• A model inspired by the Bundesbank

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The European Summit of Madrid

• June 27th 1989, Summit of Madrid compromises are
  found
• The Delors report is adopted
• A deadline is fixed for the first stage, on July
  1st 1990

• gt Decision to wait for 1993 before accepting new
  members Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 1989.

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The intergovernmental conference of Maastricht,
1991

• December 8th-9th 1989 the Strasbourg European
  Council decide to convene an Intergovernmental
  Conference to prepare changes to the Treaty of
  Rome for the development of EMU
• Maastricht European Council, December 1991
  drafting of the treaty
• February 7th 1992 signature of the treaty, that
  sets an EMU

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François Mitterrand and political union

• A political dimension for the European project
• Mitterrands conviction
• Europe as a tool for France, as a guardian of the
  states being a European and a French
• A strong Franco-German axis
• endangered only in 1989 as a result of the Fall
  of the Berlin Wall and the Confederation
  project

21
Stabilizing Europe with more political cooperation

• November 1989, joint meeting with Kohl
• The negotiations of the IGC speak of a political
  dimension for the communities
• gtthe creation of the European Union by the
  Maastricht treaty, December 1991