On 10 January 1981, in an article published in the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, Jean Rey, former President of the European Commission, speculates on the operation of the Community institutions and the real or perceived limits of their political authority over the Member States of the European Communities.

‘Abandoned building site’. In September 1983, cartoonist Hans Geisen draws a bitter portrait of the process of European unification, which he contrasts with the success of the United States of America.