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In 1965, Raymond Poignant published in Paris, on the initiative of the European Institute of University Studies, a work entitledEnseignement dans les Pays du Marché Commun. This work, which was subsequently translated and published in English and German has become a classic of its kind. The initial idea was to compare the structures and relative degrees of development of the educational systems in the European Economic Community (EEC) countries, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the U.S.S.R., in order to see how school and university systems in the EEC countries were adapting to the most pressing human, social, democratic and economic requirements of the modern world. This idea originated in the apprehension that, because of the strength of their long educational traditions, the EEC countries might find it more difficult than others to make the necessary adjustments. The conclusions of this initial work in many respects confirmed this apprehension and contributed, at the time, to the development taking place in European educational systems.