This article sheds light on the West German project for the EEC and on the specific contribution of German political and economic culture to the European compromise. Drawing on a transnational comparative perspective, it highlights the continuity and consistency of the German diplomatic position from the 1950s to the 1980s. The German project was built on a long-term theoretical framework founded on “order thinking”, which contributed decisively to the economisation of European integration. This epistemic tradition was based on the decision-making processes of German democracy, the distribution of European competences and on the continuity of administrative structures, practices and officials within the Federal Ministry for Economics. Far from being a mere “veto player”, West Germany successfully defended a long-term liberal project that contributed to the gradual shift of the Community towards a free market-orientation.
Mathieu Dubois (Wed,) studied this question.