In this interview, André Dubois, former Director of Commercial Policy at the Council of the European Communities, outlines the work of the General Secretariat of the Council in ensuring continuity between the successive Council Presidencies. He also emphasises the need for close cooperation between the General Secretariat and the Commission.

On 12 June 1985, the RTL editorial team looks back at the diplomatic negotiations that led to the accession of Spain and Portugal to the European Communities on 1 January 1986.

In the course of an interview with the CVCE in November 2003, Pierre Pescatore, Judge in the Court of Justice of the European Communities from 1967 to 1985, recalls the circumstances of his appointment.

On 19 March 1958, the European Parliamentary Assembly elects the Frenchman Robert Schuman as its President. In his first speech as head of the institution, the man who pronounced the Declaration of 9 May 1950, the founding act of the European adventure, highlights the changes made to the way in which the European Parliament works since the entry into force of the Treaties signed in Rome in March 1957.

In the referendum held on 25 September 1972, the Norwegians vote against their country joining the European Communities. The following day, RTL 7p.m. news broadcast covers the issue in depth and gives its listeners the opportunity to hear the opinions of Sicco Mansholt, President of the European Commission, and Jean Monnet, Chairman of the Action Committee for a United States of Europe.

In this interview, Charles Rutten, former Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Council of the European Economic Community (EEC), discusses the course and the political implications of the ‘empty chair’ crisis.

Transcription of the interview with Josep Borrell Fontelles, Spanish Minister for Public Works (1991–1996), Member of the European Parliament (1996–2004), Member of the Convention on the Future of Europe (2002–2003) and President of the European Parliament (2004–2007), carried out by the Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l’Europe (CVCE) on 13 July 2011 in San Domenico di Fiesole (Florence). The interview was conducted by Cristina Blanco Sío-López, a Researcher at the CVCE, and particularly focuses on the following subjects: the origins of his European commitment; Spain’s accession to the European Communities; the EU’s interinstitutional relations and, in particular, the role of the European Parliament and the Socialist Group in the European integration process; the Convention on the Future of Europe; the potential of the Treaty of Lisbon; and his experience at the head of the Joint Committee for EU Affairs, the European Parliament and the European University Institute.