During a first step of the process of European integration, from the Treaty of Rome of 1957 to the Single Act of 1986, the Economic European Community equipped itself with legal tools to build a 'common market' and common rules for the setting up of the free movement of goods. The extension of the Community competences - most often shared competences between the European Union and Member States - led to the implementation of direct intervention tools which, without having been defined as 'public enterprises' until now, seem to have, or could have, part or essential characteristics of such enterprises. Our focus is, in particular, on European joint undertakings, such as Galileo, created since the adoption of the Single Act on the basis of Article 187 TFEU (ex-Article 171 TEC); the development of 'European agencies', particularly of 'executive agencies'; European funding for infrastructure; the statute of the European company.
