In this interview excerpt, Jean Mischo, a member of the Legal Service of the European Commission from 1964 to 1969, describes how he was recruited to this post. He also discusses his activities at the Legal Service, where he was particularly involved in issues relating to the Customs Union.

In this interview excerpt, Jean Mischo, a member of the Legal Service of the European Commission from 1964 to 1969, describes the impact within the European institutions of the empty chair crisis, the disagreement which arose between France and the five other Member States of the European Communities in June 1965 over the funding of the common agricultural policy (CAP). He also explains the effect of the Luxembourg Compromise, which brought the crisis to an end in January 1966. This arrangement stipulated that if a Member State believed that its vital interests were at stake, negotiations had to continue until a universally acceptable compromise was reached.

In this interview excerpt, Jean Mischo, a member of the Legal Service of the European Commission from 1964 to 1969, discusses the impact of the Merger Treaty, signed on 8 April 1965 — which combined the executive bodies of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC), creating a single Council and a single Commission — on the operation of the Community institutions. He also describes how this treaty affected the seats of the Community departments and institutions in Luxembourg.