ResumeThe ‘Years 1970’ are a controversial period, not only in the history of European construction. Was Europe in crisis, with a stagnating political system and outstanding key political projects? Or was it strong enough to deal effectively with the defences of the dollar crisis, oil shocks and stagflation? What are the main factors (and actors) of the economic and social unease of the epoque? And what is their impact on European construction between The Hague (1969) and the Single European Act (1985-1987)? Historians subdivide historical time into rings, orphans, epoques, according to the relative importance they attach to one or other of these factors. The article analyses historical approaches from this point of view and sets out a proposal for the consolidation of this crucial period for European construction.