Single European Act

Single European Act (1986) The first substantial revision of the Treaty of Rome, which added to the principle of the common market the four freedoms—of goods, persons, services and capital. Signed in 1986, the Act came into effect on 1 July 1987, and its goals were to be realized by 1 January 1993. In response to the extension of European Community concerns, decision-making was simplified: Qualified Majority Voting was adopted on a range of issue affecting the internal market, so that unanimity was no longer required. The European Council was formally recognized as the most important intergovernmental body of the European Community. The European Parliament also received greater powers. The Single European Act was unsuccessful in a number of immediate goals, especially as freedom of services in the capital market proved difficult to realize. However, its effects were far-reaching and immediate. The freedom of persons, for instance, allowed every individual to settle anywhere within the EC and enjoy all the social, legal, and employment rights of the host nation. Moreover, the SEA is generally seen as the beginning of an accelerating process of European integration. Negotiations about a single currency, which was in itself not a new idea, began in earnest in 1988, as a single currency was seen by many in the European Commission as the logical corollary to a single market.

European integration