Threatening Europe: Britain and the Creation of the European Community, 1955–58 (Contemporary History in Context)

This book is the first to concentrate on the British attempt to place the EEC within a larger Free Trade Area. It is also the first to use recently released records to examine the Foreign Office's Grand Design for political co-operation in Europe. Its main focus is Anglo-European diplomacy, yet it deals with wider international relations and the Cold War. The book therefore extends the debate by presenting a full historical analysis of Britain's response to the creation of the European Community. "Rejection of European Community membership in 1955 was a vital development in Britain's postwar history. James Ellison's Threatening Europe reassesses this decision and is the first book to deal with the British attempt to place the European Economic Community (EEC) within a larger organisation, the European Free Trade Area (FTA). It challenges traditional views which imply that the FTA was purely an attempt to sabotage the EEC at birth and argues that British policy was more sophisticated and British attitudes more diverse than has previously been suggested. This includes analysis of Foreign Office proposals for political cooperation in Europe based on recently released materials from the archives. Threatening Europe covers the negotiations between Britain, the EEC powers and other European countries and concludes with de Gaulle's veto of Britain's FTA in 1958. It sets these events within the context of Anglo-European diplomacy, wider international relations and the Cold War."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-10 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Malicious Conception: the Counter-Initiative, June–December 1955....Pages 13-36 Fresh Impetus: Formulating Plan G, January–May 1956....Pages 37-63 Deliberation, Delay, Decision, June–December 1956....Pages 64-92 Front Matter....Pages 93-93 Perfidious Albion? January–May 1957....Pages 95-128 Philosophies Apart, June–October 1957....Pages 129-150 Front Matter....Pages 151-151 The Negotiations Begin, October–December 1957....Pages 153-176 Impending Crisis, January–May 1958....Pages 177-197 The Demise of the Free Trade Area, June–December 1958....Pages 198-220 Conclusion: Threatening Europe....Pages 221-241 Back Matter....Pages 242-310 Exploring the British attempt to place the EEC within a larger Free Trade Area, this study examines the Foreign Office's Grand Design for political co-operation in Europe. Focusing mainly on Anglo-European diplomacy, it also touches on wider international relations and the Cold War