On 26 June 1985, the eve of the meeting of the Council of Heads of State or Government of the European Community in Milan, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir outlines the issues faced by the Summit with particular emphasis on the United Kingdom’s position with regard to a European Union.

Bettino Craxi (centre), President of the European Council, welcomes the President and Vice-President of the European Commission, Jacques Delors (left) and Lorenzo Natali (right), to the Milan European Council, held on 28 and 29 June 1985.

From left to right: Bettino Craxi, Italian Prime Minister, Felipe Gonzales, Spanish Prime Minister, Guilio Andreotti, Italian Foreign Minister, and Fernando Moran, Spanish Foreign Minister, at the Milan European Council.

At the Milan European Council of 28 and 29 June 1985, the Adonnino Committee submits its second report on a People's Europe.

On 29 June 1985, the conclusions of the Milan European Council set out the economic, political and institutional challenges facing Europe in the years ahead.

‘Spaghetti milanese/Milan Summit.’ In June 1985, the German cartoonist, Walter Hanel, takes an ironic look at the difficulties encountered by the Ten at the Milan European Council of 28 and 29 June in resolving Community institutional matters and in agreeing to revise the treaties.

On 30 June 1985, the day after the Milan European Council, the Belgian newspaper Le Soir presents an overview of the results of the Milan talks and considers the sticking points which might delay a revision of the European Treaties.

On 1 July 1985, following the Milan European Council, the French newspaper Le Figaro gives a mixed account of the meeting held by the Ten and describes the difficult debate surrounding the issue of institutional reform.

On 1 July 1985, the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung examines the impact of the decisions taken at the Milan European Council on the process of institutional reform.

On 1 July 1985, the French daily newspaper Libération considers the talks between the Ten at the Milan European Council, held on 28 and 29 June, on the European technological project (Eureka) and on the political development of the European Communities.

On 2 July 1985, following the Milan European Council, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the Ten’s disagreement on the future of the institutions of the European Community with a view to its development into a European Union.

Le 9 juillet 1985, Jacques Delors, président de la Commission des Communautés européennes, déplore devant le Parlement européen l'échec du Conseil européen de Milan des 28 et 29 juin et fait sept propositions pour sortir l'Europe communautaire de l'impasse.

On 10 July 1985, the European Parliament delivers its opinion on the outcomes of the European Council meeting held in Milan on 28 and 29 June 1985.

‘Onwards to the next Euro-conference.’ On 23 July 1985, Fritz Behrendt, a Dutch cartoonist originally from Berlin, paints an ironic picture of the quarrels and disagreements between the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Communities over how to make progress on the institutional reform of the Communities and the question of a revision of the treaties. The smiles and good cheer displayed in the group photo following the successive European Councils give the impression that everything is going well, but in reality the future development of the European Communities is undermined by disagreements between the Ten. From left to right: President of the Italian Council of Ministers Bettino Craxi, Netherlands Foreign Minister Ruud Lubbers, French President François Mitterrand, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González Márquez and Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens.

In his memoirs, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German Foreign Minister from 1974 to 1992, recalls the that role he played at the Milan European Council and the reservations of the United Kingdom.

In this interview, Catherine Lalumière, former French Junior Minister for European Affairs, describes the atmosphere and proceedings at the Council of the European Union held in Milan on 28 and 29 June 1985, with particular regard to the decision taken by the Ten, after strong pressure had been exerted by the Italian Presidency, to convene an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to amend and supplement the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (EEC).