On 18 July 1967, on an official visit to the European Commission, Tyge Dahlgaard, Danish Minister for Trade and European Integration, emphasises the importance that Denmark attaches to its accession to the European Economic Community (EEC).
On 2 April 1968, in response to applications for membership of the European Economic Community (EEC) from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Norway, the European Commission delivers its opinion on the practicalities of future enlargement of the EEC.
On 18 February 1969, on the occasion of the Danish MP Anders Andersen’s visit to Brussels, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for External Relations sends Gaetano Martino, Commissioner, a background note on Denmark’s position on the Nordek plan.
On 1 October 1969, the Commission, updating its Opinion of 29 September 1967, delivers a new Preliminary Opinion on the applications for accession to the European Communities submitted by the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and Norway.
In October 1969, the Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) of the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) gives its views on the opinion delivered by the European Commission on the applications for accession to the European Common Market submitted by Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom.
This press release from the Commission, dated 19 June 1971, outlines the consequences of the enlargement of the European Economic Community (EEC) on its relations with the Member States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which have not applied for accession.
On 29 September 1971, Paolo Cecchini, Head of the Task Force of the Commission of the European Communities for the enlargement of the Communities and chief negotiator for the trade agreements with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), sends a note to Edmond Wellenstein, Head of the Delegation from the Commission of the European Communities to the negotiations on the enlargement of the Communities, in which he outlines the respective positions of Sweden and the Commission with regard to the country’s possible accession to the European Communities.
On 3 November 1971, the Delegation from the Commission to the negotiations on enlargement sets down information to be used in responses to general questions likely to be put to Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the Commission of the European Communities, during his forthcoming official visit to Sweden.
On 6 September 1971, the Swedish Government sends a memorandum to the Commission of the European Communities in which it outlines the aspects relating to trade and the institutions which need to be clarified on both sides with a view to better economic cooperation between Sweden and the European Communities, while taking into account the country's neutral status.
On 11 November 1971, in Stockholm, the Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, and some Members of the Swedish Government welcome Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the Commission of the European Communities, accompanied by a Commission Delegation for an exchange of views on the terms for Sweden's possible accession to the European Communities.
On 22 January 1972, at the opening of the ceremony held to mark the signing of the Accession Treaties of Denmark, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom to the European Communities, Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the European Commission, delivers an address at the Egmont Palace in Brussels in which he welcomes the accession of the four countries to the Communities.
On 19 January 1972, the European Commission delivers a favourable opinion in response to applications from the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for membership of the European Communities.
On 22 July 1972, as the trade agreements between the European Economic Community and Austria, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland are signed in Brussels, Jean-François Deniau, Member of the Commission, gives an address in which he outlines the importance of these agreements for the progress of European integration and relations with the other Member States of the Community.
Following the Paris Summit of 19–21 October 1972 and the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession of Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom to the European Communities on 1 January 1973, François-Xavier Ortoli, President of the Commission, gives an address at the first session of the Council of the enlarged Community, held on 15 January 1973 in Brussels. In his speech, Ortoli emphasises the tremendous sense of hope inspired by the words ‘European Union’ for the future of European nations.
In his memoirs, Robert Marjolin, former Vice-President of the European Commission and member of the Committee of the Three Wise Men, recalls the drawing-up of the Report on the European institutions, intended better to prepare the Communities for enlargement.
On 25 April 1969, on the occasion of a visit to Brussels by Poul Nyboe Andersen, Danish Minister of Economic Affairs and Nordic Cooperation, the European Commission analyses the Danish Government’s position in the negotiations for the creation of a Nordic Economic Union (Nordek).
A note drawn up by Gaetano Martino and forwarded to his colleagues in the European Commission on 5 May 1969 analyses the economic implications of Nordek, the proposed Nordic Economic Union, and outlines the position of the four Nordic countries vis-à-vis the European Community.
In November 1968, a European Commission delegation meets the Norwegian authorities with a view to seeking a solution to the problems for the common fisheries policy which will result from Norwegian accession to the Common Market.
In September 1970, the French monthly magazine Le Monde diplomatique outlines the stakes involved in and the historical scope of Norway’s possible accession to the European Communities.
In January 1972, in the journal Revue du Marché commun, Andreas Cappelen, Norwegian Foreign Minister, describes Norway's hopes and fears with regard to its accession to the common market.