Undoubtedly all Confiad observers would agree that the core lobbying of the confederation was linked to that period “ante-Internal market”. For that reason it must be considered as the most important passage in the present historical synopsis. Beginning 1986 fortunately Confiad already had reached a certain level of maturity.France had joined the Euroclub and already during the summer of 1996 the paramount item on the agenda was the “White Paper program”.

It was going to remain on the agenda for almost seven years. Indeed the aim was no more no less than the abolition of physical,technical and fiscal barriers.The result was the scrapping of intracommunity borders in the EU-map.

Confiad was supposed to examine that inevitable EU purpose:

- to be informed

- to inform

- to anticipate.

In the meantime another european initiative desserved attention:

the Single Administrative Document.

The Community Transit was also a matter on the agenda. Many other customs files had to be examined and Confiad in the eighties obtained three seats in the EU Advisory Committee for Customs Matters that was considered as the only body of consultation between the European Commission and the private operators. The representation of Confiad was appropriate at a stage that the profession needed the strongest lobbying in its history.

By all means at all levels Confiad organised this lobbying by:

- increasing the meetings of the Board

- increasing the meetings of the Committee for european affairs

- increasing the meetings with the European Commission

Inviting a high representative of the Commission to the third Seminar. More precisely during the third Seminar the intervention of the official of the European Commission was indicating that the strategy was straight. Under the impetus of the President of the European Commission Delors it became more an more obvious that it was not planned to turn out of the way towards the goal called in Cecchini's best-seller in the eighties “1993 the Challenge”. That challenge was presented as the only promising future of Europe.

Within this framework the message of Confiad was not very popular.

During the 4th Seminar in may 199O indeed the utmost divergence between the viewpoints of the Commission and Confiad had reached its pinnacle. The Commission even clearly stated that the member states were fully endorsing now the White Paper program and already progressively adopted it during the eighties.Two years before the 1993 deadline there was no doubt anymore and Confiad continued to warn both the professionals and the Commission. It was however after the 4th Seminar that the right track was detected at the level of the cabinet of the Commissioner Mme Christiane Scrivener. Last but not least a Commissioner understood and accepted that the abolition of borders and the abolition of intracommunity customs formalities had not only advantages but also prejudices for the professional partners of the Customs administration. For the first time the social and economic negative impact was recognized. The consequences of an Internal Market for the customs professionals was not anymore only a matter of concern of the representatives of the customs agents.The Commission- at least one cabinet- considered it as a burden that should lessen the benefits of an EU Market if nothing was planned to compensate the loss of jobs and the redundacy. Time had come to transpose that awareness (that was keeping busy Confiad for more than five years) into action. That action was realised in three times

- An inquiry in order to quantify and qualify both the social and economic impact of the Single Market requiring the active input of Confiad

- An official Communication of the Commission based on above inquiry and confirming indeed the awareness of the Commission

- The main purpose was now to convince the member states and it was just at the eve of the proposed 1993 deadline that on 17 december 1992 a Council regulation was approved concerning the reconversion of the customs agents.