ABSTRACT
The revolutionary events of 1989, including the dramatic opening of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent rush to German unification, posed a tremendous challenge to the European Community. The collapse of the communist order in Eastern Europe came with shocking and unexpected suddenness. Even before the opening of the Berlin Wall, many within the Community were becoming fearful that the upheavals in Germany and Eastern Europe might delay or overwhelm plans for further integration. The dramatic events of 1989 were a cause for much joy and celebration in Europe and throughout the world, but they generated uncertainty within the Community and raised new questions about the future of European integration. Germany, for its part, insisted that unification would not diminish its enthusiasm for European integration. Improvement of relations between Bonn and Paris was made difficult, however, by the growing momentum of developments in Germany.
