Using Europe, Abusing the Europeans

Download or read book Using Europe, Abusing the Europeans written by Wolfram Kaiser and published by Contemporary History in Contex. This book was released on 1996 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: British policy towards European integration has been one of the most divisive issues in British politics since 1945. This book analyses the formative period of British European policy between 1945 and de Gaulle's veto against British EEC membership in 1963. It is the first historical study to look at Britain's role in the integration process on the basis of a detailed evaluation of the newly accessible government records, of Conservative Party records, private papers and interviews. It argues, in particular, that it is necessary to understand the unexplored ambiguities in Britain's first EEC application of 1961, shown here as an attempt to appease the American government, to hold the Conservative Party together and to split Labour, in order to appreciate the continuing problems in its relations with Europe. In conclusion, the epilogue highlights the most important continuities in British European policy until the present.