Single European Act (SEA)

The Single European Act (SEA) was signed in February 1986 in Luxembourg and The Hague and came into force on July 1, 1987. There were several significant provisions of the SEA that brought important modifications to the foundational treaties that had established the European Communities and were agreed to in the 1950s. The European Communities were built on the agreements of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). To fully appreciate the central role that the Single European Act has played in the formation of the European [Page 1930]Union (EU), a brief history of how the EU became a governing institution in Europe is necessary.