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Flashcards by lizzie.lambrou, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by lizzie.lambrou
over 10 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| 1950 | Schuman Plan: European and Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). Integrated French & German heavy industry. Attlee's government refused to join: "The Durham miners won't wear it, I'm afraid" |
| 1952 | European Defence Community (EDC) treaty signed but the need for the plan seemed to diminish and it was replaced by the EEC |
| 1955 | The Messina conference set out plans for the EEC. 'The Six': France, West Germany, Italy, Benelux. British delegation sent on behalf of foregin minister Macmillan, observed but did not join |
| 1957 | Treaty of Rome launched the EEC |
| 1959/1960 | European Free Trade Association (EFTA), with Britain as a founder member. Not as successful as EEC - consisted of outer 7 rather than inner 6: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Portugal & Switzerland |
| 1961 | First application to EEC by Macmillan government. Rejected in '63 - vetoed by France (de Gaulle) |
| 1962 (Labour's attitudes to Europe) | Gaitskell fought passionately against Britain's first EEC epplication - "it would be the end of a thousand years of history". Wilson = more ambivalent (pro-American & Commonwealth but could see economic advantage). Roy Jenkins & George Brown = enthusiastic but Labour left = hostile |
| 1967 | Second EEC application (made by Wilson government) rejected. France and de Gaulle again |
| 1971 | Agreement in principle for Britain's accession to the EEC (by now, Britain's PM was the passionately pro-European Heath and the French president was Georges Pompidou) |
| 1973 | Eventual EEC accesion (under Heath government), along with Ireland and Denmark |
| 1975 | EEC referendum held by Wilson gov. - confirmed British membership (decisive margin of victory by more than 2:1). Mainly held to get round internal divisions within Labour |
| 1984 | The UK rebate: Thatcher's persistent campaign for Britain to be given a rebate by the EEC eventually achieved success. Pleased supporters at home, irritated her Europen partners |
| 1986 | Single European Act: Thatcher was enthusiastic about the Single European Market when it was negotiated in 1985-86 |
| 1986 | Anglo-French agreement to build Channel Tunnel (opened in '94). Showed Thatcher's good working relationship with French president Francois Mitterrand & was a symbolic link between Britain and France |
| 1988 | Turning point. Thatcher's "no, no, no" speech in Bruges. Emphasised that the EEC was a trade association between sovereign states - she was resolutely opposed to federalism & an "ever closer political union". Infuriated many European leaders & raised doubts about Britain's commitment. Enthused Eurosceptics in Britain (the Bruges Group) |
| 1990 'The Sun' headline | "UP YOURS DELORS!" - referred to Jacques Delors, president of the European Commission. Thought the EEC should be moving towards political union > Thatcher frequently clashed with him (egged on by tabloid press) |
| 1990, comment about Helmut Kohl made by Thatcher to her foreign policy adviser | "That man is so German!" - Thatcher had a fractious relationship with German chancellor, Helmut Kohl. Agreed on many policies but personalities clashed > Thatcher's anti-German view of European history |
| 1988-> (re end of Cold War) | As the prospect of German reunification came closer, Thatcher's fears of a united Germany dominating Europe intensified |
| 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 | Lavish celebrations - Gorbachev & Bush Senior invited but Thatcher was not |
| 1991 (Major quote) | He promised to 'place Britain at the very heart of Europe' |
| 1992 | Maastricht Treaty: turned EEC into EU, extending inter-government cooperation. Major secured a number of 'opt-outs' for Britain (the euro, the Social Chapter). A. Seldon: Major achieved more than Thatcher would've been able to |
| 1999 | Launch of the euro |
| 2001 | Treaty of Nice: reform of institutions to cope with expansion to 25 member states. Britain took a leading role in the negotiations (led by Blair) |
| 2003 | Invasion of Iraq by American-led coalition opened up deep divisions between some European countries & Britain |
| 2004 | Expansion of EU from 15 to 25 states (Czech Republic, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland etc.) |
| 2005 | G8 summit at Gleneagles - personal triumph for Blair's diplomacy. Blair took the lead in European initiatives on issues like climate change, world trade and aid for Africa |
| 2006 | G8 summit at Heiligendamm. Support from the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, ensured that the initiatives begun at Gleneagles were carried forward |
| 2007 | Enlargement of EU to 27 states (Bulgaria & Romania). Treaty of Lisbon replaced the 2004 Rome Treaty that was never ratified, but it was a new, diluted scheme which aroused considerable controversy |
| By 2007 (Blair's achievements) | Personal prestige in Europe still high - excellent relationships with new French president Nicolas Sarkozy & German chancellor Angela Merkel. But few concrete achievements: progress on climate change & 'making poverty history' = frustratingly slow. EU treaties |
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