CVCE.eu, University of Luxembourg, (accessed on 19 November 2024).

The University of Luxembourg’s CVCE.eu website (former Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe) gives you access to documents and publications on the European integration process. It is a major information source available in English, French and German. Select your language preference in the top left sidebar.

Liargovas, Panagiotis, Papageorgiou, Christos. Chapter in: The European Integration, 1, 2024, pages 115-141.

This chapter describes the two southward enlargements of the European Communities in 1981 and 1986, the signing of the Schengen Agreement in 1985, the ratification of the Schengen Agreement in 1985, the approval of the Single European Act in 1986, and concurrent developments in Eastern Europe.

Wall, S., Global Policy, 13 (S2), 2022, pages 30-38.

This article assesses how Thatcher's conflicting attitudes towards the EEC played out in the achievement of the single market and how, unintentionally, she laid the foundation for the single currency, which she so vehemently opposed.

Skalli-Housseini, Y., UNU-CRIS working paper series, (2), 2020.

This working paper explains the appearance of the unlikely alliance between Delors, Kohl,
Thatcher and Mitterrand behind the Single European Act (1986).

Chapter in: Brexit, 2018, pages 141-151.

The UK rebate in the early days was largely devised and negotiated by Margaret Thatcher, yet its acceptance by the EC and the challenges that it posed to the union throughout the coming decades—or so this chapter will argue—have indirectly contributed to political reforms and new treaties that have in fact accelerated European political integration.

Melchionni, Maria Grazia, Rivista di studi politici internazionali, 75 (1), 2008, pages 103-109.

The Genscher-Colombo negotiations took place at the same time as the preparatory works for a treaty on the European Union carried on by Altiero Spinelli at the European Parliament. The first led to the solemn Stuttgart declaration on the European Union issued by the European Council in 1983, the second to the project treaty on the European Union adopted by the European Parliament in 1984. The article highlights how both events led the European Council of Milan y in June 1985, to decide the starting up of the negotiations for the Single European Act..

Dür, A., Mateo, G., European Integration online Papers (EIoP), 8 (18), 2004.

In the course of the last twenty years, the European Union (EU) has engaged in six intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) with the aim of revising its founding treaties. [--] Whereas in some IGCs governments manage to include all issues on the negotiating table in an overall package deal, in other cases decisions on important issues are postponed until a later negotiation. The continuum reaches from the Treaty of Nice (2003), which had to be renegotiated immediately, to the highly efficient cases of the Single European Act (1987) and the recent Constitutional Treaty (awaiting ratification).

Budden, P., Journal of European public policy, 9 (1), 2002, pages 76-97.

This article explores the less 'intergovernmental' aspects of the 1985 Intergovernmental Conference. It concludes that non-governmental actors were important, that the governments were not always unitary, that structures and ideas shaped the outcome of the negotiations, and that the process was, therefore, not as strictly 'intergovernmental' as some theorists have suggested.

Johansson, Karl Magnus, Party politics, 8 (4), 2002, pages 423-439.

The analysis focuses on the 1985 Intergovernmental Conference, which led to the Single European Act (SEA), and the political family of Christian Democrats, most notably party leaders' meetings.

Skalli-Housseini, Yannis, UNU-CRIS working paper series, (2), 2000.

This working paper explains the appearance of the unlikely alliance between Delors, Kohl, Thatcher and Mitterrand behind the Single European Act (1986). As the first major revision of the Treaty of Rome (1957), the Act kickstarted the relance of European integration after a prolonged period of Eurosclerosis in the 1970s, that ultimately cumulated in the foundational Maastricht Treaty.

Moravcsik, A., International organization, 45 (1), 1991, pages 19-56.

The unexpected approval in 1986 of the Single European Act and its program for completing the European Community's internal market by 1992 did not, according to the historical data presented in this article, result from an elite alliance of the European Community Commission, European Parliament, and pan-European business groups. Instead, it rested on interstate bargains involving Britain, France, and Germany, for which the two essential preconditions were the convergence of European economic policy prescriptions following the French turnaround in 1983 and the bargaining leverage that France and Germany gained by threatening to create a “two-track” Europe and exclude Britain.

Noël, E., Government and opposition, 24 (1), 1988, pages 3-14.

An account of the background, development and negotiations of the Single European Act with reference to four of its innovatory features: synergy between the internal market and economic and social cohesion; majority decision in the Council; procedures for cooperation between Parliament, Council and Commission; introduction of the principle of differentiation.

Møller, Ostrøm, The world today, 44 (11), 1988, pages 195-199.

Review of Article 100 A of the new Treaty. Analysis of the preparatory work and the proceedings of the Intergovernmental Conference of June 1985, objectives, political and economic significance, role of the institutions.

Gallagher, M., Irish political studies, 3, 1988, pages 77-82.

An analysis of the background to the 1987 referendum in the Republic of Ireland to approve a proposal to allow the state to ratify the Single European Act. The report also examines the patterns of support revealed by the outcome of the vote.

McAleese, D., Matthews, A., Journal of Common Market Studies. 26 (1), 1987, pages 39-60.

While the Irish Republic government strongly supported the negotiations toward the SEA, there was a keen awareness that completion of the internal market would leave many problems of the Irish economy unresolved.

Meriano, C. E., International spectator, 22 (2), 1987, pages. 89-99.

The author evaluates the conditions that led up to the signing of the Single Act, analyses the prospects for its ratification, and discusses its main provisions

Temple Lang, John, Legal Service, European Commission, Common Market Law Review, 24 (4), 1987, pages 709-718.

The coming into force of the Single European Act was delayed because the Irish Supreme Court ruled that the Act was incompatible with the Constitution of Ireland. The author examines Ireland's Constitution and discusses the High Court and Supreme Court judgements.

Ehlermann, C.D., Common market law review, 24 (3), 1987, pages 361-409.

Sidjanski, Dusan, Revue d'intégration européenne = Journal of European integration, 10 (02-03), 1987, pages 109-134).

L'auteur analyse l'origine (1980) et les caractéristiques du projet de Traité (1984), la naissance (1986) et le contenu de l'Acte unique. Il étudie le rôle de l'opinion publique grâce à l'Eurobaromètre No. 23 de 1985.

Gulmann, Claus, Common market law review, 24 (1), 1987, pages 31-40.

The author describes the Danish position before and during the Governmental Conference, discusses the Danish referendum and ratification, and analyses the new rules relating to the internal market, in particular the meaning and scope of Article 100A(4).

Glaesner, H. J., Yearbook of European Law, (6), 1986, pages 283-312.

Weidenfeld, W., Aussenpolitik, English Edition, 37(4), 1986, pages 378-387.

The conjunctures of the EC reform since the beginning of the 1970s. The preceding history of the Single European Act characterised by three documents: the Solemn Declaration at the 1983 Stuttgart Summit, the European Parliament's 1984 Draft Treaty on a European Union and the reports of the Ad Hoc Committee on Institutional questions ("Dooge Committee").

Zwaan, Jaap W. de, Common market law review, 23 (4), 1986, pages 747-765.

This article seeks to discuss the origins and the progress of the Intergovernmental Conference which, in February 1986, culminated in the signature of the Single European Act. Discussion is focused in particular on the techniques and procedures used during the negotiations.

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Lodge, Juliet, Journal of Common Market Studies, 24 (3), 1986, pages 203-223.

The article adresses the outcome of the Luxembourg European Council with reference to the European Parliament's original aims and strategy; the governments' identification of critical issues; and the content of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) agreements embraced by the "Single European Act" (SEA). The conclusion is that the SEA is little more than a charter to safeguard national interests, that, however, it reflects a firm commitment to realizing the internal market.

Murphy, Finbarr, Irish jurist, 20 (1), 1985, pages 17-42.