ABSTRACT
Part of this chapter was the decision taken by representatives of the member states to work towards the establishment of a political union in Europe. The climate of economic recession notwithstanding, the political opportunity structure nevertheless favored some crucial initiatives for new policies. It resulted from the existing acquis communautaire which included already at that time the idea of European union and the project to create a stronger European identity. The context was framed by changing institutional, economic and political conditions on the global level which influenced the flow of European politics. After the declaration of the goal of political union at the 1972 Paris Summit, it took two more years until the 1974 Paris Summit to transform these ideas into guidelines for future policy making. The Leo Tindemans Report stressed the importance of new ideas for the political project of creating the union. The Paris Summits set the first stage for citizenship practice in the European Community (EC).
