Single European Act

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1985 decided European Council of Milan in a dramatic crucial vote by a majority of seven to three a intergovernmental conference to consider the powers of the institutions, new responsibilities of the Community and the creation of an internal market with the aim of a supplementary agreement to the Community Treaties (ECSC, EEC and Euratom ) and a contractual basis for the existing European Political Cooperation (EPZ). On February 17, 1986 , this amendment contract was signed in Luxembourgsigned by a total of nine of the now twelve member states (Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom). The three other member states (Denmark, Greece, Italy) followed on February 28, after a referendum on signing had previously taken place in Denmark.

The Single European Act (EEA) was the first special reform treaty, which was later followed by the Maastricht , Amsterdam , Nice and Lisbon treaties . It marked the preliminary conclusion of a reform debate lasting several years. With the Single European Act, the treaties on the EC were amended and supplemented, no union was created. The European Union (EU) was still named as a development target. The EEA came into force on July 1, 1987; previously, the Republic of Ireland, the last of the twelve member states, had ratified the act on June 25, 1987. Using the art term Uniform European Acts , the EEA, as a treaty under international law, combines two different topics:

  • Agreement on European Political Cooperation (EPC)
  • Legal act in particular amending the Treaty on the European Economic Community regarding
    • the decision-making process in the Council;
    • the powers of the Commission;
    • the powers of parliament;
    • the expansion of the powers (so-called competences / competences of policies) of the communities.

Furthermore, a meeting of the European Council at least twice a year was agreed for the first time (Art. 2 EIO).

Structure of the EEA

The EEA thus identified a so-called double function. Once she is as auditing contract that in ex art. 236 of the EEC Treaty, ex art. 204 of the Euratom Treaty and ex Art. 96 ECSC V proposed agreement between the Member States amending the founding treaties. On the other, the EEA is also a classic international agreement between Member States on European cooperation in foreign policy. The EIO consists of a preamble and four titles - furthermore, according to the final act, it contains a number of declarations:

  • preamble
  • Title I: Common Provisions (Articles 1–3)
  • Title II: Provisions amending the Treaties establishing the European Communities (Articles 4–29)
    • Chapter I: Provisions amending the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (Art. 4–5)
    • Chapter II: Provisions amending the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (Articles 6–25)
      • Section I: Provisions relating to the organs (Art. 6–12)
      • Section II: Provisions on the foundations and policies of the Community (Articles 13-25)
        • Subsection I: Internal Market (Articles 13-19)
        • Subsection II: Monetary Policy Powers (Art. 20)
        • Subsection III: Social Policy (Art. 21)
        • Subsection IV: Economic and social cohesion (Art. 23)
        • Subsection V: Research and Technological Development (Art. 24)
        • Subsection VI: Environment (Art. 25)
    • Chapter III: Provisions amending the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Articles 26-29)
  • Title III: Treaty provisions on European cooperation in foreign policy (Art. 30)
  • Title IV: General and final provisions (Articles 31–34)
  • Final act: declarations
    • adopted declarations No. (1–11)
    • Attached, acknowledged declarations No. (1–9)

The agreement on closer cooperation in foreign policy then represented the decisive preliminary stage for the inclusion of the CFSP in the newly established EU treaty by the Maastricht Treaty . The EEA, as well as later the changes by the (subsequent) reform treaties (Maastricht , Amsterdam, Nice and Lisbon) is not even approximately legible, but requires the addition of a consolidated text version in which the individual changes are incorporated into the treaties.

Chronological order

Sign
in force
contract 		1948
1948
Brussels
Pact 		1951
1952
Paris 		1954
1955
Paris
Treaties 		1957
1958
Rome 		1965
1967
merger
agreement 		1986
1987
Single
European Act 		1992
1993
Maastricht 		1997
1999
Amsterdam 		2001
2003
Nice 		2007
2009
Lisbon 		  Pix.gif Pix.gif Pix.gif Pix.gif Pix.gif Pix.gif Pix.gif Pix.gif
                   
European Communities Three pillars of the European Union
European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) → ←
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Contract expired in 2002 European Union (EU)
    European Economic Community (EEC) European Community (EC)
      → Justice and Home Affairs (JI)
  Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (PJZS) ←
European Political Cooperation (EPC) → Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) ←
Western Union (WU) Western European Union (WEU)    
dissolved on July 1, 2011
                     


The most important stages leading to the signing of the EEA

In the aftermath of the Tindemanns report on the European Union (1975) with an overall draft for the consolidation and future orientation and development of the EC, a lengthy discussion and proposal phase emerged. Increased problem pressure, caused by internal difficulties as well as external challenges, led from 1980 to intensive efforts for an EC reform and thus also for the establishment of a European Union.

  • Solemn declaration by Stuttgart on June 19, 1983

This text, which was drawn up on the basis of the plan by the German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and his Italian counterpart Emilio Colombo, is supplemented by declarations from the Member States on the objectives to be achieved in the areas of inter-institutional relations, Community competences and political cooperation. The Heads of State and Government undertake to review the progress made in these areas and, if necessary, to incorporate them into a Treaty on European Union.

  • Draft treaty establishing the European Union (1984)

At the initiative of the Italian MP Altiero Spinelli, a parliamentary committee for institutional affairs is set up with the aim of drawing up a treaty that will replace the existing communities with a European Union. The European Parliament adopted the draft treaty on February 14, 1984.

  • Fontainebleau European Council on 25/26 June 1984

On the basis of Parliament's draft treaty, an ad hoc committee made up of personal representatives of the Heads of State and Government, chaired by Senator Dooge of Ireland, examines the institutional issues. The Dooge Committee report calls on the European Council to convene an Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate a treaty on the European Union.

  • The 1985 White Paper on the Internal Market

At the initiative of its President Jacques Delors, the Commission publishes a white paper in which 300 (later reduced to 282) legislative measures necessary for the realization of the internal market are listed. The White Paper contains a timetable and specifies 31 December 1992 as the end date for the completion of the internal market. This program was approved by the Council of the 10-member Community at the Milan Summit (1985).

The goals of the Intergovernmental Conference

The Milan European Council on 28/29 Finally, June 1985 proposes the convening of an Intergovernmental Conference on the following subjects:

  • Achievement of the internal market by January 1, 1993,
  • Strengthening the role of the European Parliament in eliminating the democratic deficit in the Community decision-making system,
  • Improvement of the quorum of the Council (partially revised voting procedure, see below)
  • Formation of an overall organization in the form of European Political Cooperation (EPZ)

The results achieved by the EEA

The Intergovernmental Conference, which opened under the Luxembourg Presidency on September 9, 1985, will be concluded in The Hague on February 28, 1986 with the following results:

  • Affirmation of the will to create the European Union (preamble and Art. 1 EEA);
  • Completion of the internal market by December 31, 1992, with decisions in the area of ​​internal market policies generally being made as majority decisions in future;
  • Orientation of economic and monetary policy cooperation towards the goal of convergence ;
  • Expansion of the range of tasks to include the areas of (politics ) research and technology , the environment and social policy
  • Achieving economic and social cohesion through a new approach to the use of structural funds and EC financial instruments;
  • Strengthening the role of the European Parliament in eliminating the democratic deficit in the Community decision-making system,
  • Improvement of the quorum of the Council (partially revised voting procedure, see below)
  • The European Political Cooperation (EPZ) is placed on a contractual basis.

An economic and monetary union has not (yet) been established. The decision-making mode (unanimity) in the Council remains largely unaffected, with the exception of the internal market. In addition, the Council's rules of procedure were changed, whereby a vote in the Council can now take place at the initiative of its President, at the request of the Commission or a Member State.

With the EEA, the powers of the European Parliament have been slightly strengthened, since from now on its approval of the Community's enlargement and association agreements is required. In the legislative field, the EP-Council cooperation procedure gave the EP real, albeit limited, legislative power. Above all, it was an important intermediate step in order to use the co-decision procedure (ex Art. 189 b of the EEC Treaty) to transform Parliament from 1993 ( Maastricht Treaty) into an equal co-legislator who is usually on a par with the Council (Art 251 EC Treaty as amended by the Treaty of Nice), see currently Art. 294 TFEU.

The results in detail

Title I: Common Provisions (Articles 1–3)

In Art. 1 EEA, the European Communities and the EPC are both named as a means of jointly contributing to concrete progress on the way to the European Union . The procedures and practices that have gradually developed between the Member States are expressly applicable to the EPC in the reports of Luxembourg (1970), Copenhagen (1973) and London (1981) and in the Solemn Declaration on the European Union (1983) . Art. 2 EEA determines the composition of the European Council , the support from the Foreign Ministers and a Commissioner as well as the annual number of meetings. For the powers of the institutions / organs, Art. 3 EEA refers to the provisions of the community agreements or the EPZ, depending on the relevant competence / responsibility.

Title II: Provisions amending the Treaties establishing the European Communities (Articles 4–29)

Chapters I and III contain a few changes (Articles 4–5, 26–27 EIO) to the procedure before the Court of Justice for ECSC and EAEC.

The focus is on Chapter II with the changes to the EEC. Section I contains innovations for the work (competencies) of the organs: Art 6 EIO determines the changes to the procedure for cooperation (between Council and EP), Art. 7 EIO changes the decision-making authority of the Council. In Art. 8 and 9 EIO the accession procedure is changed. Art. 10 EIO extends the regulation of the delegation of the powers of the Commission to implement legal acts. Art. 11 and 12 EEA contain the same regulations on the EEC, as in Chapter I on the ECSC and III on the EAEC.

Section II then records the decisive and landmark changes in Community policies.

  • In order to create the internal market, unanimity in decision-making was replaced by a majority voting system in matters relating to the internal market (Art. 13–19 EIO).
  • These changes were extended to the common customs tariff, free movement of services, free movement of capital and common maritime and air transport policy (Art. 16 EIO).
  • Monetary policy powers for the purpose of observing the convergence of the economies in the member states (Art. 20 EEA).
  • Enlargement in social policy (Art. 21–22 EEA).
  • new policies: economic and social cohesion; Research and technological development; Environment (Art. 23-25 ​​EEA).

These expansion of competencies followed ( according to the neo-functionalist integration theory ) mostly perceived practical constraints that arose from the previous integration steps (so-called spill-over effect). According to this, sectoral integration leads to the interlinking of more and more sectors, ideally ultimately to the final stage of a general political federation.

Title III: Treaty provisions on European cooperation in foreign policy (Art. 30)

Since the summit in The Hague (1969), there was an agreement of four foreign ministers' meetings per year. Art. 30 EEA now placed the EPZ on a contractual basis. Thereafter, the member states undertook to jointly develop and implement a European foreign policy (Art. 30 I EEA). According to Article 30 II - XII EEA, a part of this agreement included

  • mutual briefings and consultations,
  • especially before individual member states determine their final stance as part of their sovereign foreign policy,
  • Taking into account the views of the other partners in the individual opinions and national measures,
  • Ensuring a step-by-step development and definition of common principles,
  • Avoidance of measures or statements that would damage the effectiveness of the European Communities as a coherent force in international relations or in international organizations,
  • regular meetings of the foreign ministers and a member of the commission (at least four times a year) within the framework of the EPC,
  • Participation of the commission in the work of the EPC to the full extent,
  • Commitment, as far as possible, to hampering the formation of consensus in order to swiftly adopt common positions and implement joint action;
  • Involvement of the European Parliament through regular information,
  • Observance of the coherence of the external policies of the European Communities and the policies agreed within the framework of the EPC,
  • political dialogues with third countries and regional groups.

Parallel activities: The most important of the 282 concrete measures

The EEA thus laid the foundation for an accelerated harmonization through legal approximation by means of 282 directives, which were now simplified in the Council by a qualified majority. This program goes back to a so-called Delors package, which the then President of the Commission presented to the EP eight days after he took office in Strasbourg in January 1985 as part of his inaugural address. At the beginning, Delors asked in one sentence: "Is it presumptuous to announce the decision and then implement it to abolish all intra-Community borders by 1992?"

  • Elimination of personal and goods controls at the internal EC borders (e.g. relocation of controls to production, standardization of veterinary law)
  • Mutual recognition of numerous product norms and food standards and their harmonization
  • Elimination of the tax barriers created by different VAT and consumption taxes
  • EC-wide opening of public procurement markets (for government contracts from DM 10 million )
  • Far-reaching market opening and liberalization (e.g. insurance and transport industry)
  • Elimination of state monopolies (e.g. post)

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ABl . EG L 169/1 ff. Of June 29, 1987, also Federal Law Gazette (Germany) 1986 II 1102