Single European Act:
The Single European Act (SEA) was the first major revision of the Treaty of Rome that formally established the single European market and the European Political Cooperation.
There was discontent among European Community members in the 1980s about the de facto lack of free trade between members. Leaders from business and politicals wanted to harmonize laws between countries and resolve policy discrepancies. A commission to analyze whether a common market was possible and what steps would be needed drew up proposals that became the Single European Act.
The goal was to remove remaining barriers between countries, increase harmonization, increasing the competitiveness of European countries. It reformed the operating procedures of the institutions (which then had 12 members, rather than 6 as initially) and Qualified Majority Voting was extended to new areas. An aim was set of a single market by 1992.
The act introduced European Political Cooperation, forerunner of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy.
The act was signed at Luxembourg on February 17, 1986, and at The Hague on February 28, 1986. It went into effect on July 1, 1987, under the Delors Commission.
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