On 15 October 1970, Étienne Davignon, Political Director in the Belgian Foreign Ministry, and Berndt von Staden, Director-General in the German Foreign Ministry, hold a meeting to discuss the Davignon Report, which recommends European political cooperation.

On 27 October 1970, in Luxembourg, the Foreign Ministers of the Six adopt the Davignon Report which recommends increased cooperation between the Member States of the European Communities in the area of international policy.

On 27 October 1970, in Luxembourg, the Foreign Ministers of the Six adopt the report on the harmonisation of foreign policies among the Six, prepared under the leadership of Viscount Étienne Davignon, Political Director in the Belgian Foreign Ministry. The Davignon Report recommends greater cooperation between the Member States of the European Communities in the field of international policy.

On 23 November 1970, Achille Albonetti, former senior European civil servant and Director of the National Committee for Nuclear Energy, forwards a note to the President of the Commission of the European Communities, Franco Maria Malfatti, in which he announces initiatives relating to the creation of a European Political Community.

Note from the Commission of the European Communities dated 16 December 1970 concerning the 9 December meeting of the Heads of Delegation of the Member States of the Community and of the Commission and recommending the action to be taken on the Foreign Ministers’ Report adopted on 28 October 1970.

On 14 January 1971, Albert Borschette, Member of the Commission of the European Communities, forwards a note to Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the Commission of the European Communities, in which he analyses the implications of the Davignon Report on the way in which the Communities function.

On 17 February 1971, a confidential note from the Commission of the European Communities sets out the implications of political union on the way in which the Community functions and outlines the Commission’s role within the mechanism provided for in the Davignon Report.

On 27 October 1970, in Luxembourg, the Council of Ministers of the European Community adopts the report on the harmonisation of the foreign policies of the Six, drawn up under the authority of Viscount Etienne Davignon, Political Director of the Belgian Foreign Ministry.

In this interview, Étienne Davignon, former Director-General for Policy in the Belgian Foreign Ministry, describes the preparations for what was to become the ‘Davignon Report', which, in 1970, recommended greater cooperation between the Member States of the European Communities in the area of international policy.

In this interview, Étienne Davignon, former Director-General for Policy in the Belgian Foreign Ministry, explains how the Foreign Ministers of the Six reacted to the ‘Davignon Report', which, in 1970, recommended greater cooperation between the Member States of the European Communities in the area of international policy.