The 1980s: Expansion of the European Community

On 1 January 1981 the southward extension of the European Communities started with the accession of Greece, and Spain and Portugal followed in 1986. Furthermore, by signing the Single European Act on 17th February 1986, the member states of the European Community set themselves a new and ambitious objective: to create an European economic area without internal frontiers by 1992. Thus, the realisation of the internal market became a dominant topic. Also, international economic linkages and issues related to trade and protectionism became increasingly emphasised. A number of articles attempted to foretell the future of economic relations between East and West and to evaluate whether perestroika was more likely to fail or to succeed.