Inside the European Community? Actors and Policies in the European Integration 1957-1972

In 1958 the ratification of the Rome Treaties led to the creation of new actors in European policies: the EEC and the EURATOM. Not only the European Commission or the European Parliamentary Assembly tried to assert themselves as autonomous actors, which could work out European policies independently from the governments, but also interest groups and political forces began to organize themselves as European entities. The twenty-six contributions on this volume are offering new insights on the role which European institutions played as well as on the decision-making process within these institutions and on the interaction between the new institutions and the national governments. The volume discusses the implementation of the EEC Customs Union and the development of the Common Agricultural Policy, the first attempts on European social and monetary policies, the role of the EEC in international transactions and the appearance of European federations of political parties and pressure groups. Coherence and performance of these actors determined the new political playground which emerged during the 60’s and early 70’s.