Great Britain and the European Union

Thèmes abordés

Great Britain

Résumé du document

Great Britain because of its quality of being an Island, and it was always excluded from the continent's activities. Furthermore, the British take a real pride in their own culture which can explain their rather cold attitude in the matters of international relations. So, we can ask ourselves how Great Britain joined the European Union and observed its evolution regarding its participation in the European Union activities?

After seeing the history of Great Britain in the European Union, we will look at its participation in it.

We will begin by explaining how the European Union was created and the first rejection of Great Britain to join it. Since the end of the Second World War to 1956, England having won the war, it felt superior to other European powers that were in ruins. The fear of loss of sovereignty coupled with the excitement of the Empire in 1950 led Britain to reject plans when Pleven and Schumann established the foundations of the current European Union.

Extraits

[...] Now we will observe the degree of paricipation of the Great Britain in the European Union. Although that the Great Britain was entered in the European Union the British were still reserved, only 67% of faorable mind at the referendum of 1975. The Thatcher government will very hard and the Iron Lady will defend tooth and nail interests British, including the burning issue of contribution to European budget. His successor, John Major, has a style less incisive and able to obtain concessions, particularly on the Maastricht's Treaty. [...]

[...] Despite a sharp growth, Britain is therefore not fully part of Europe and rest a bit behind compared to other countries like France and Germany for example. In addition, by taking the decision to support the U.S. in the war against Iraq, Britain has again shown its divergence of opinions with other European countries. De Gaulle saw Britain as a Trojan horse Americans, the term free rider may also take effect on the United Kingdom since the latter enjoy the benefits it provides Europe but did not match its international politics. [...]

[...] But the Great Britain rejected the idea of joining this community. At first, Atlee ans Churchill refuse to enter the CECA ans until de sixties the British were really reserved towards the idea of a united Europe. The Britain feared to lose its individuality and they rejected any idea of suprenationality. Furthermore the economy was sick until 1945 and the opening even limited of the frontiers was badly appreciated. But since the sixties, the Britain has changed its mind wants to join the European Union because of the successfull common market. [...]

[...] He signed the European Convention on Human Rights which took effect in the UK in 2000 that its predecessors had refused to sign on behalf of parliamentary sovereignty. Blair is not the only one of his government to be more favorable to Europe since Gordon Brown, Robin Cook and Jack Straw were more positive than their predecessors. He goes further and wants even place Great Britain at the heart of Europe. Now Britain is involved in all commissions European debates, took part in voting and even proposals. [...]

[...] It was inaugurated on 6 May 1994. The arrival of Tony Blair to power in 1997 marked a turning point in the evolution of British policy. Indeed, he is very enthusiastic about Europe unlike his predecessors margaret Tatcher and John Major. He thinks that being in Europe, is in the best interests of United Kingdom. This vision is well summarized in his delivered on the 23 February 2000 to Gant in Belgium : Of course Britain could survive outside the European Union. [...]