WEEK 2: Intergration Revived? Single European Act

Question 1

What was the Hague Summit (1969)?

Answer 1

Agreed to deepen and to widen the European Communities.

Question 2

What were the 3 aims of the summit?

Answer 2

Completion, Widening and Deepening

Question 3

What was the proposals of the COMPLETION, WIDENING, DEEPENING?

Answer 3

‘COMPLETION: resolution of the EC budget issue left over from the 1965 Empty Chair Crisis

‘WIDENING’: Enlargement to include initially four candidate states: UK, Denmark, Ireland and Norway

‘DEEPENING’: Two main aims ‘Economic and Monetary Union’ and ‘European Political Co-operation’ (EPC)

Question 4

What was completed behind the COMPLETION aim of the summit?

Answer 4

European Parliament Assembly (EPA): Granted a budgetary role (France agreed!) – the EPA must approve non ‘compulsory expenditure’ and propose amendments to items of ‘compulsory expenditure’

-Council of Ministers: By qualified majority could amend amendments and refuse modifications

Question 5

What was completed behind the WIDENING aim of the summit?

Answer 5

• Enlargement achieved

Negotiations between UK, Ireland, Denmark and Norway launched in June 1970 and completed by January 1972

Question 6

What were the problems behind the WIDENING?

Answer 6

Economic slow down and emerging International economic crisis

British membership: Britain emerges as the ‘Awkward Partner’ of European Integration

Question 7

What was achieved behind the DEEPENING in the summit?

Answer 7

Economic and Monetary Union and the creation of a common foreign policy

Question 8

How was the Economic and Monetary Union acheived?

Answer 8

Next step in building Europe
International catalyst – 1969 first major realignment of currencies, threat of monetary instability = threat to trade

Monetary policy seen as necessary to make the common market more effective

Following the Werner Committee proposals on EMU in 1971 – Council of Ministers adopted a programme for EMU in stages between 1971 - 1980

Question 9

What was the first attempt at European Monetary Cooperation?

Answer 9

‘The Snake in the tunnel’
- Aimed at limiting fluctuations between different European currencies
-Attempt at creating a single currency band for the European Economic Community (EEC)
(pegging all the EEC currencies to one another)

Question 10

What were the problems behind European Monetary Cooperation?

Answer 10

• IMF Crisis that followed end of Bretton Woods System (1971) destroyed the snake
• Apr 1972: Snake resurrected but under speculative pressure starts to come apart (UK and Ireland left June 1972, Italy Feb 1973, France 1974 and 1976)

Question 11

What was the first attempt in rebuilding Europe and its integration after the stagnation of the 1970’s?

Answer 11

-October 1977: Roy Jenkins (Commission) calls for EMS in order to maintain macroeconomic stability (lower inflation and increase investment)

Question 12

What was significant for integration in the 1970’s/80’s?

Answer 12

Followed a period of -scepticism (Oct 1977 – Feb 1979)

International system - continuous dollar depreciation that undercuts German industrial competitiveness
-Lead to change in position of Ger Chancellor Schmidt

Leads to Bremen Council (1978): Franco German proposal for ERM

Question 13

What happened during the London Council in Nov 1981?

Answer 13

• Genscher-Columbo Plan
• Adoption of Draft European Act
• Common Foreign Policy
• Coordination of security policy
• Transformation of European Council into organ of political guidance
• Wider application of the QMV principle

Question 14

What is the Genscher-Columbo Plan?

Answer 14

• Proposed to weaken the veto power and make a stronger political co-operation for the EU in 1981
• This was agreed to in the “Stuttgart-declaration” in June 1983.

Question 15

What was the impact of the London Council?

Answer 15

Receives cool response from -The Council (it proposed a diminished role for the Council)

-No immediate impact on integration but did contribute to the next round of talks on political union and treaty revision

Question 16

What did the Stuttgart Council (June 1983) do?

Answer 16

• Lead to Adoption of the “Solemn Declaration on European Union”
• Create determination to transform EC into EU
• Evolving role of the European Council and European Parliament
• Strengthening of the EMS
• Common action in political and economic aspects of security
• Deepening and broadening of the scope of European activities
• Call for completion of the internal market

Question 17

What limited the progress made in the Stuttgart Council?

Answer 17

• Marks a change but change is limited!

- Limited by problematic budget negotiations and the issue of the British rebate

Question 18

What was the ‘Southern Enlargement’?

Answer 18

• 2ND and 3RD round of enlargement in the 80’s: Greece (1981), Spain and Portugal (1986)
• With this the widening V weakening dilemma re-emerged

Question 19

What was the elements both rounds of negotiations (Greece and Spain/Portugal) had?

Answer 19

• Both rounds had begun in earlier decades (Greece – 1960s, Spain and Portugal 1970s)
• Both were marked by difficult negotiations with the Commission
• Both applications: the importance of political and strategic interests of the EC and applicant state

Question 20

What occured in 1985 for european integration?

Answer 20

• New commission under presidency of Jacques Delors
• Brussels European council (Feb 1985) – instructed the Commission to draw up a timetable for the completion of the single market
• Leads to white paper by Lord Cockfield (British Commissioner for Trade and Industry)

Question 21

What did Lord Cockfield’s white paper list?

Answer 21

Lists barriers to be removed for genuine single market and included a timetable for completion (end of 1992)

Question 22

What did the Milan European Council agree to?

Answer 22

• Heads of Government agree the whitepaper and the timetable for completion
• Agree to set up an IGC (intergovernmental conference) to agree changes necessary to original treaties to achieve the single market and to consider recommendations of the Dooge report (1984)

Question 23

What did the IGC from the Milan European Council agree to?

Answer 23

Agreed to the Single European Act

-Agreement reached at Luxemborg Council in Dec 1985

Question 24

What was the Single European Act?

Answer 24

• Set an objective of establishing a single/common market by 31 December 1992
• Rejuvenated process of European Integration

Question 25

What did the institutional reform of the SEA introduce?

Answer 25

• Introduced QMV into the Council of Ministers – goal to speed up decision making
• Initally resisted by Thatcher later agreed

Question 26

What were the explanations of the creation of the SEA?

Answer 26

• Domestic: Ideological shift away from state intervention towards acceptance of deregulation
• Domestic: Poor economic performance in the three large member states - need for a steady economic growth strategy
• Role of lobby groups: Cross national collaboration amongst industrial interest groups in support

-Institutional: Pivotal role of the European commission and the leadership of Delors
International context: concern over the competitiveness of European member states vis-à-vis USA and Japan