Preamble to the Single European Act

Representatives of the twelve members of the European Community signed the Single European Act ( sea ) in February 1986 and saw it implemented in July 1987. The sea , the first major revision of the Treaty of Rome, brought together in one “single” act a treaty on European cooperation in the area of foreign policy and institutional and procedural reforms (such as the increased use of qualified majority voting) designed to facilitate the completion of the single market. The act, although not universally recognized at the time as significant, marked a milestone in the attempt by Community leaders to bury the legacy of Charles de Gaulle and “relaunch” Europe. The success of the sea in facilitating the single market opened the way for further institutional reforms in the early 1990s.