However, the idea had already been raised as an objective since the founding of the European Community in the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Moving, trading, and establishing a presence or providing services in any EU country appears as something evident today. Yet the single market did not come into force until 1993. Admittedly, we tend not to properly value most things that seem evident to us. But the free movement of goods, capital, services and persons is one of the EU’s major achievements. At the start of the process, in 1985, around 300 measures to achieve this goal were identified. A whole series of internal obstacles and borders progressively disappeared. Changes were made to key mechanisms to allow for progress, introducing the qualified majority as opposed to the unanimity required until that point. It was opted to pursue the minimal rather than full harmonisation of national regulations, which the EU partners acknowledged as equivalent. The history of the single market shows, as Voltaire asserted, that perfect is on many occasions the enemy of good. The lack of headway in achieving the single market before 1985 was no doubt due to competition-busting practices maintained by national authorities, but also to the difficulty of reaching unanimous agreements in the Council and to the pursuit of overly detailed legislative harmonisation. The situation was unlocked after opting for goals which, a priori, were less ambitious. In fact, certain administrative barriers remain, e.g.
14.1.2020  Informational breakfast “The European Banking Union” Club Diálogos para la Democracia Margarita Delgado Deputy Governor  Good morning. Many thanks, Miguel, for your kind introductory words. My appreciation, too, to Unicaja and the Club Diálogos para la Democracia, in particular their chairman, Antonio Gavilanes, for inviting me to take part in today’s colloquium. As you well know, Diálogos para la Democracia was founded in 1976 as a debate forum that sought to provide ideas and solutions to the numerous problems arising in a society which, at that time, was in transition towards democracy. Evidently, societies evolve, and new problems arise which we must address. This is why this type of forum remains as necessary today as ever. Undoubtedly, since our democratic transition, one of the key landmarks has been our accession to what was then known as the European Economic Community on 1 January 1986, over 34 years ago. The importance of this landmark in shaping our society and our economy has been enormous. Despite this importance, I believe that knowledge in Spanish society of Europe’s institutions and regulatory framework is, very often, scant. This is why I greatly appreciate this opportunity to discuss a European project I consider most important, namely the Banking Union. Allow me to begin by acknowledging that this is a topic I am somewhat biased about.