Keith Middlemas deposited this fonds by way of donation under the terms of a deposit contract signed in December 1992 between Mr. Keith Middlemas, Professor at the University of Sussex (School of Social Sciences), Brighton, UK, and the HAEU, represented by the Principal of the European University Institute Mr Emile Noël.

The MID fonds contains the whole set of transcriptions (in English translation) of the evidence gathered in connection with the research project 'The informal politics of the European Community, 1973-1993'. The evidence consists of summaries of 400 interviews conducted by a team of historians between 1992 and 1994 and which served as basis for the book "Orchestrating Europe: The Informal Politics of the European Union 1973-1995" (published in 1995), written by Keith Middlemas as Professor of Contemporary History at the Sussex University.

The book was based on a transnational programme of interviews with ‘a range of practitioners’: Commission officials, Commissioners, member and candidate countries administrators, members of the EC/EU Permanent Representations, politicians, regional notables (Catalunya, Emilia Romagna, Rhône-Alpes etc.) and representatives of the industrial, financial and labour sectors. The study aimed to analyse the informal process behind the construction of Europe during a period characterised by the adoption of two important treaties after a decade of stagnation: the Single European Act (1986) completing the internal market and expanding Community competences (research and development, environment etc.); the Maastricht Treaty on the European Union (1992) establishing notably the Economic and Monetary Union in the framework of a Single Market. In that context, the team of historians focused their questions on the role of unofficial contacts between the European institutions and the various interlocutors (even if the conclusion was the tendency of the Commission to formalise these informal contacts). So strategies such as lobbying and bargaining were essential to comprehend the real distribution of power and its importance in the decision-making process.

For each summary the name and function of the interviewee is given. The texts are organised by country. However one series is dedicated to the interviews made by high ranking officials, MEP’s etc of the European institutions. Interviews with members or former members of the EC/EU Permanent Representations are described in the country sections of the inventory: Butler, Nicoll and Palliser (United Kingdom), Heyman (Belgium), Mauch (Germany), Oosterhoss (Netherlands), Sellal (France), Vallera (Portugal), Leggeri e Varrichio (Italy).

The HAEU was granted de facto intellectual copyright in the interviews deposited, authorizing exploitation and partial reproduction for purposes of research or conservation.

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