European Monetary System
In March 1979 the European Monetary System (EMS) was as a first step towards an and monetary union. plans to reach complete EMU by 1980 proved overly optimistic; of member states against each other, and the devaluation of some limited growth and led to high inflation. The EMS was proposed to exchange rates and curb inflation by limiting the of for each member to a small from a central rate. A common European Unit (ECU) was introduced by which the central exchange rates could be set. The ECU was of all the EU , weighted according to the importance of each country. When any reached the limit of the of , set at 2.25 per cent, the central banks of the respective countries were obliged to by selling off the stronger and buying the weaker one. The EMS also member governments to take steps to prevent continued from the central rate. The EMS helped lower inflation rates in the EC and eased the shock of during the 1980s. However, its , the Exchange Rate (ERM), in September 1992 under attack by speculators, by high German interest rates following reunification. Italy and Great Britain were forced out of the ERM.

Towards a Single Market
The most development in the EC during the 1980s was the progress towards a single European market. The campaign for the single market was led by Jacques Delors, a former French minister who became president of the European in 1985. At a summit meeting in Milan, Italy, the proposed a seven-year timetable for nearly all the remaining trade barriers between member states. The European Council approved the plan, and the of a single European market by December 31, 1993, accelerated reforms with the EC and increased and among member states. , it led to the formation of the European Union.

One obstacle to full was the Common Agricultural (CAP). During the 1980s the CAP accounted for about two-thirds of annual EC expenditures ( were gained from on imports and up to two per cent of the value-added tax collected by member states). The CAP encouraged the production of large surpluses of some that the EC was to buy, resulting in to some countries at the expense of others. At an emergency summit meeting in 1988, EC leaders agreed on to limit these payments; under the 1989 budget, agricultural less than 60 per cent of total EC spending for the first time since the 1960s.

Single European Act
The fixed timetable for the single market the EC's need for greater power in order to all the surrounding the of trade barriers in time for the deadline. The Council of Ministers had to reach unanimous agreement on every decision, effectively giving any one member state veto power and thus slowing the political .

The Single European Act, introduced in December 1985 and approved by all 12 members by July 1987, the first changes to EC since the already Treaties of Rome of 1957. Among the changes was the introduction of the weighted system which helped speed up the of the single market. The Single European Act also made other important changes. The European Council, which had provided much of the impetus for the single market, was given formal ; the European Parliament was given greater voice and influence; and member states agreed to adopt common and standards on matters from taxes and employment to health and the . In addition, the Court of First was to hear appeals of EC rulings brought by , organizations, or ; and each member state to bring its and monetary in line with its neighbours, using the EMS as a model.