Brussels, 21/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - Spain and Portugal's accession of the European Economic Community (EEC) had coincided with a fortunate turning point in the history of European integration, explains Pietro Calamia in “La svolta europea del 1985. Il ruolo dell'Italia” published by “Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali”. Membership talks begun in 1977 had been complex and sometimes bitter, says the former Italian diplomat who concluded the talks in 1985 as Italy's permanent representative, which was then under Giulio Andreotti's resolute and skilful leadership. Negotiations were difficult, not only with the candidate countries but also among the ten EU member states, recalls Ambassador Calamia, who brings a lively and personal touch to the description of the last phase in talks. The political agreement marking the end of nearly ten years of negotiations had been reached during the night of 28 to 29 March, he says, in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and confidence for the future of the Community. During the European Council on 30 March, Chancellor Helmut Kohl had expressed his “admiration for the 'grosse Leistung' (great productiveness) of the Italian presidency”, adding, in a tone of prophesy, as Calamia points out, that this also meant freedom for the future. Calamia goes on to conclude that Portugal and Spain's entry into the Community was not a point of departure but rather a point of renewal. As Chancellor Kohl had said so intuitively, the future had been freed, and the Italian presidency was already reflecting on possible decisions to be adopted at the European Council of Milan at the end of June attended, albeit as observers, by the - oh so enthusiastic - new member states.
And then, as Calamia points out, there was also the enthusiasm of the president of the European Commission at the time, Jacques Delors. The rest is history: - the Intergovernmental Conference, the Single European Act, and continued progress in the laborious process of European integration. (MG/transl.jl)