ABSTRACT
Complete political integration—a federal union of states—was the ultimate goal of the founders of what has today become the European Union. The Single European Act formalized the European Political Cooperation (EPC) system. The Act required meetings at least four times a year of the foreign ministers within the EPC framework, as well as regular meetings of the political committee and its subsidiary bodies, it provided for emergency meetings of the political committee, and it established a separate EPC secretariat. The process of European political integration in the sense of limiting member states' sovereign powers began with the Treaty of Rome. The provision in the Treaty of Rome for some decisions to be taken on a basis other than unanimous approval by the member states similarly represented a degree of political integration. Its inclusion indicated the negotiators' recognition that the Community could not function effectively if each member state could exercise a veto over every piece of legislation.
