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3 - The Making of the European Union

from Part I - Milestones: Treaties and Treaty Changes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2023

By
Sophie Vanhoonacker
Edited by
Mathieu Segers  and
Steven Van Hecke
Mathieu Segers
Affiliation:
Universiteit Maastricht, Netherlands
Steven Van Hecke
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
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Summary

Coinciding with radical regional and global changes, the period 1986–93 is a fascinating time in the history of European integration. The fall of the Berlin Wall (November 1989) opened the prospect of ending the division of the European continent and the bipolar world order, raising fundamental questions for both international and intra-European relations.

The momentous events coincided with a renewed dynamism in European integration.1 In June 1985, the member states of the European Communities (EC) had adopted a Commission White Paper with almost 300 measures required to complete the internal market of goods, services, persons and capital by the end of 1992.2 The Single European Act (SEA), a series of treaty amendments aimed at more democratic and effective policy-making, laid the constitutional groundwork for the realisation of this ambitious plan.

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Chapter
Information
The Cambridge History of the European Union , pp. 93 - 117
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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References

Recommended Reading

Dinan, D. (ed.). Origins and Evolution of the European Union, 2nd ed. (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014).Google Scholar
Gehler, M. and Loth, W. (eds.). Reshaping Europe: Towards a Political, Economic and Monetary Union, 1984–1989 (Baden-Baden, Nomos Verlag, 2020).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laursen, F. (ed.). Designing the European Union: From Paris to Lisbon (London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).Google Scholar
Moravcsik, A. The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht (Ithaca, NY, Cornell University Press, 1998).Google Scholar

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