How Integrated was the UK with Europe
from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Starter: Using your prior knowledge, how integrated was
Europe as a whole in 1951?
What do these words mean and what do they have to do with Europe?
1. Free trade
2. Protectionist
3. EU
How Integrated was the UK with Europe from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Q1. question sheet.
• Attlee 1950 ‘We are not prepared to accept the principle that the
most vital economic forces of this country should be handed over
to an authority that is utterly undemocratic and is responsible to
nobody’
• Macmillan 1950 ‘We will allow no supra-national authority to
put large masses of our people out of work in Durham, in the
midlands, in South Wales and in Scotland’.
Schuman Plan – when France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg joined the
ECSC.
How Integrated was the UK with Europe from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Map sheet
•In 1950 Britain refused to join the European Coal and Steal Community where Europe
wanted to pool their best resources
•In 1957 ‘the six’ (France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg)
signed the Treaty of Rome to found the EEC (economic organisation).
•It established a...
• Common market (trade was between equal states with minimum regulation)
• Customs union to monitor trade between member states
• Common Agricultural Policy (where ‘rich areas’ subsidise ‘poor areas’ by paying
higher guaranteed prices for food, this meant the consumer paid high prices).
• It had political undertones as Germany tried to re-establish itself as a
respectable nation and France tried to keep Germany weak through a formal
organisation
•Italy and Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg wanted to get as many economic
concessions from Germany as they could
How Integrated was the UK with Europe from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
In 1959 the UK was a founding member of EFTA – the European Free
Trade Association – Norway, Sweden, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland and
Denmark were also members. It was set up to allow free trade more
easily between these countries and to counteract the power of EFTA.
Label these on your map.
How Integrated was the UK with Europe from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Question 2 question sheet
Macmillan announced that Edward Heath would have special
responsibility for joining ‘the six’. In 1961 Macmillan announced Britain
was considering joining the EEC. Why was this?
• Britain was performing poorly economically, she had an industrial growth rate
of just 2.3% behind Italy with 5.6%, Germany with 5.1% and France with
4.3%. Britain had also slipped from 6th to 3rd in the world GDP rankings.
1. Suez had also shown that Britain was no longer an independent world power
and raised doubts over the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’.
2. Britain was also no longer truly independent in nuclear warfare, as she had to
buy Polaris submarines from the USA.
3. The Conservatives were now dominated by younger, city-orientated,
managerial members, rather than agricultural members. These members
feared being left behind economically.
How Integrated was the UK with Europe
from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Question 3 Question sheet
What conditions did Macmillan attach to joining the EEC?
Macmillan 1963
How Integrated was the UK with Europe
from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Question 4 Question sheet
What would the others say to Britain joining the EEC? Why would they be particularly upset?
De Gaulle fought in both WWI and WWII. As President, Charles
de Gaulle ended the political chaos that preceded his return to
power. A new French currency was issued in January 1960 to
control inflation and industrial growth was promoted. Although
he initially supported French rule over Algeria, he controversially
decided to grant independence to that country.
Immensely patriotic, de Gaulle and his supporters held the view,
known as Gaullism, that France should continue to see itself as a
major power and should not rely on other nations - like the US for its national security and prosperity. Often criticized for his
Politics of Grandeur, de Gaulle oversaw the development of
French atomic weapons and promoted a foreign policy
independent of U.S. and British influence.
What might De Gaulle
think about Europe and
Macmillan?
How Integrated was the UK with Europe
from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
Why did De Gaulle veto Britain’s application?
Add key dates and events from these clips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuponz6uZ
es
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuponz6uZ
es
NB. BRITAIN ANNOUNCED THEY WOULD LIKE TO
JOIN IN 1961 AND STARTED THE PROCESS. THEY
WERE VETOED IN 1963. YOU MAY HERE BOTH OF
THESE DATES.
How did De Gaulle vetoing Britain’s
application affect Britain?
How Integrated was the UK with Europe
from 1951 to 1964?
Aim: to learn the main events of Britain’s relations with Europe 1951-1964 and assess what
impact this had on Britain
What was this and when was
it founded? Think about –
what affect it had
1. Schuman Plan
2. EEC
3. CAP
4. ECSC
5. EFTA