The Re-launching of European Integration in the 1980s, Ideas and Policies

Abstract

Two major developments have deeply affected the European Economic Community (EEC) in the 1980s: the global move toward deregulation, which is in part the result of Thatcher and Reagan’s policies, and the breakdown of the Soviet Empire in 1989. I will examine how deregulation established itself as a factor of European integration, and identify the turning points in the development of the EEC that are now affecting the current functioning of the EU. By pointing out what still needs to be improved on convergence in Single Market regulations and economic policy, as well as in the European Monetary Union (EMU) solidarity mechanisms, I hope to provide some insights on how to avoid frictions among member states, as they often ultimately stem from different interpretations of the EU’s “common view.”