The concept of economic and social cohesion in the treaty establishing the European Community

Abstract

This article is a diplomatic history of the development of the concept of Economic and Social Cohesion in the EC Treaty. The article was written in order to check on the span of commitment which the Member States undertook when inserting this concept in the EC Treaty by way of the Single European Act in 1986. The imminent enlargement of the European Union as well as the introduction of the possibility of 'closer cooperation' (Title VII of the Treaty on European Union concluded in Amsterdam, 1997) make such examination opportune.