On 5 December 1968, the Commission of the European Communities sends a memorandum to the Council of Ministers on the economic and monetary problems and the approach that might be adopted by the Community to address these issues.

On 12 February 1969, the European Commission presents a memorandum to the Council on the coordination of economic policies and on monetary cooperation within the Community. The Council adopts the memorandum, known as the Barre Plan, on 17 July 1969.

On 17 July 1969, in Brussels, the Council of Finance Ministers of the Six, represented here by its President, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing of France, adopt the European Commission's Barre Plan for the coordination of economic policies and monetary cooperation at Community level, represented here by Commission President, Jean Rey.

In this opinion, the Monetary Committee of the European Economic Community welcomes the content of the memorandum from the Commission to the Council of 12 February 1969, which calls for greater economic and monetary cooperation within the Community.

On 10 July 1969, the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the Member States of the European Economic Community delivers its opinion on the Barre memorandum of 12 February 1969. The Committee particularly emphasises the coordination of the Member States' economic policies and the possibility of short-term monetary support within the Community.

In October 1969, the monthly publication 30 jours d’Europe highlights the key measures pertaining to monetary issues set out in the Barre Plan and speculates on the implementation of these measures.

On 4 December 1969, in its coverage of the decisions taken at the Hague European Summit of 1 and 2 December, the French daily newspaper Le Monde considers the monetary policy of the Six and their determination to establish an economic and monetary union.

In this interview, Paul Collowald, former Deputy Spokesman for the European Commission, discusses the work of Raymond Barre, Vice-President of the Commission with special responsibility for Economic and Monetary Affairs from 1967 to 1972.

On 1 December 1969, on the occasion of the Hague Summit, the Heads of State or Government of the Six pose for the traditional group photo. In the first row (from left to right): Mariano Rumor, Willy Brandt, Georges Pompidou, Piet de Jonck, Gaston Eyskens, Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Werner. In the second row (from left to right): Aldo Moro, Gaston Thorn, Maurice Schumann, Pierre Harmel, Joseph Luns and Walter Scheel.

On 2 December 1969, in the Final Communiqué from the Hague Summit, the Heads of State or Government of the Six declare their determination to pursue the aim of the unification of Europe and to strengthen the European Communities.

On 1 and 2 December 1969, the Heads of State or Government of the Six meet in The Hague in order to revive the process of European integration.

On 2 December 1969, at the conclusion of European Summit at The Hague, Jean Rey, President of the European Commission, indicates the resolve of the Six gradually to establish an economic and monetary union.

Le 10 décembre 1969, la Cour de justice des Communautés européennes rend son jugement dans le recours en manquement engagé par la Commission contre la France. En cause: les mesures de sauvegarde prise par la France à l'été 1968. Paris en a prolongé l'application au-delà de la période autorisée par le Conseil. Rendu à peine une semaine après le sommet européen de La Haye, cet arrêt rappelle aux institutions communautaires que le régime de coordination des politiques monétaires n'exclut pas l'attribution de pouvoirs d'autorisation et d'intervention. Il est aussi rappelé aux Etats membres l'impossibilité de déroger aux obligations communautaires, sous prétexte de leur autonomie monétaire.

In this interview, Étienne Davignon, former Director-General for Policy in the Belgian Foreign Ministry, outlines the issues involved in the Hague Summit, held on 1 and 2 December 1969 in the Dutch capital and attended by the the Heads of State or Government of the six Member States of the European Communities.