December 9^th and 10^th 1974: The Paris Summit

Due to the energy crisis, heads of state or government of the nine members met in Paris at the invitation of Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the newly-elected president of the French Republic. At the suggestion of France, the summit in Paris established the European Council, outside of the community treaties. From that point on, European leaders met at least three times per year to decide on the general political direction of the Community. The principle of universal suffrage for election of the European Parliament was also adopted at this summit. Conscious of improving cooperation, the nine member states entrusted the Belgian Léo Tindemans with the mission of investigating the creation of a European union which would go beyond the economic integration stage.

February 28^th 1975: First Lomé Conventions

In the 1960s, the Yaoundé conventions enabled former French colonies in Africa to be included in European economic development. Membership of the United Kingdom led to the twenty independent states of the Commonwealth being connected to Europe. This was a turning-point for the European policy of cooperation.

The Lomé Convention ensured free access to the community market for almost all products produced in 46 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Financial aid for development was also granted, particularly aid that aimed to give support to agricultural production. The commercial preference given to ACP countries would for a long time be the cornerstone of the European policy of development aid.

July 7^th 1978: Creation of the European Monetary System

During the 1970s, the European monetary ‘snake’ broke down several times due to serious tensions between European currencies. In 1978, it was practically dead in the water.

Convinced that it was absolutely necessary to limit fluctuations between currencies to get the European economy moving again, the French and German contingents decided to create a new monetary system, quite similar to the ‘snake’ in its workings, and open to all member states of the Community. The European Monetary System (EMS) was a bigger success than the monetary ‘snake’. In 1983, François Mitterand made the important decision to keep France at the heart of the EMS thus affirming its bond to Europe.

June 10^th 1979: First election of the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage

As agreed at the 1974 Paris Summit, the new term of the European Parliament was elected by direct universal suffrage. However, participation in all countries was barely more than 40% and, as would often be the case in the years to come, the election was largely decided on national issues. Frenchwoman Simone Veil was elected president of the parliament which was still rather unstructured and had little power.

But its new democratic legitimacy enabled the European Parliament to rapidly increase its competencies. Today, it has become a fully-fledged legislator of the Union alongside the Council of the EU.

January 1^st 1981: Greece becomes a member of the European Community

Although associated with the Community since 1961, Greece had found itself diplomatically isolated followed its 1967 military coup. In 1974, the fall of the colonels’ regime and the return of democracy brought Greece and Western Europe closer together. Greece applied for membership in 1975 but had to catch up economically before becoming the 10^th member of the European Community in 1981.

June 25^th and 26^th 1984: The Fontainebleau European Council ends the budgetary crisis

For months, the ten members had been arguing over the future community budget. The British felt that they contributed too much to a budget that was dominated by the CAP. The unyielding Margaret Thatcher continued to ask for a “fair return” for her country and made the famous statement, “I want my money back!".

Thanks to a growing bond between François Mitterand and Helmut Kohl, a compromise was finally found at Fontainebleau. The financial resources of the Community were increased, CAP financing was reduced and the United Kingdom received a part of its contribution back. Since this point, the UK has benefitted from a rebate of its contribution to the community budget (what the French refer to as the ‘British cheque’).

Last update: Feb 21st, 2010