How adequate is the question of sovereignty in the political disputes within Britain about the desirability of joining the European communities? (1945-1973)

Résumé du document

Britain was one of the first countries to imagine a European grouping after the Second World War. In Zurich, on 19 September 1946, Churchill called for a 'United States of Europe', which would be based on cooperation between France and Germany. Yet he saw no place for Britain in this organization. .For him, Britain was not a regional but a world power just like the United States and the USSR. Later in May 1951, Churchill went further on this idea explaining that the U K was 'with Europe' but not 'of' Europe. Thus, in the process of the European construction, Britain has rather been an 'awkward' than a friendly 'partner.' Britain's reluctance towards the European construction can be explained by the orientation the continental European countries gave to this new organisation. Whereas Britain was for the idea of 'cooperation' which involves a total sovereignty for the member states, the European continental countries preferred the 'integration' system which involves a loss of sovereignty in fields which would depend of supranational institutions. A sovereign state can be said to be 'the one that holds and exercises supreme authority within its territorial jurisdiction.'

Extraits

[...] Andrew Geddes, The European Union and British Politics (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), p.24. Stephen George, An Awkward Partner: Britain in the European Community (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), p.1. Geddes, The European Union Hugo Young, This Blessed Plot: Britain and Europe from Churchill to Blair (London: PaperMac, 1999), p.5. Denman, Missed Chances Max Beloff, Britain and the European Union: Dialogue of the Deaf (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1996), p.3. Miriam Camps, Britain and the European Community: 1955-63 (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1964), pp.2-3. Alan S. [...]

[...] Therefore the aim of this essay is to analyse how adequate this concept is for explaining the pre-1973 political disputes within the UK about the desirability of joining the European Communities. Thus, we shall analyse Britain post-war influence throughout the world which was one of the key features to explain her attachment to the idea of sovereignty during all the pre-1973 European construction. After the war, the UK was considered as the ‘Europe rescuer.'[5] Standing along with the USA and the USSR as part of the Three', Britain still wanted to appear as a world power, with her privileged role in the centre of the Commonwealth, and with her Empire covering one third of the globe. [...]

[...] Britain relation with the Commonwealth would also be altered with her entry in the EEC and that's why the Labour, which was very attached to Britain's influence in the Commonwealth was not in favour of Britain joining the EEC. Yet, Prime Minister Macmillan belonged to a generation of Conservatives which accepted the end of the British Empire, and called for a British application to join the EEC in 1961. Britain said to be ‘wholehearted' to the European cause, but some other countries did not believe her. [...]

[...] But the French government came up with another idea which would have been the counterpart of the Schuman Plan and a further step in the construction of Europe: the European Defence Community (EDC). This new institution would have included a European Minister of Defence responsible to a European Assembly, a European Defence Council of Minister and a single Defence budget. Because of all the supranational characters of this organisation, Bevin made it clear that his preference was for building up NATO and choose not to stand with the Six once again. [...]

[...] Thus, any transfer of power to supranational organisations, as well as any dependence from one state to another, are an erosion of the national autonomy and involve a loss of sovereignty. British political officials commonly admitted that their country was the centre of three spheres of influence known as ‘circles': the United States, the Commonwealth and Europe. Churchill made the special relationship with the USA the first of the three spheres of influence for Britain. His idea of a special relationship with the USA was based on the belief that the Americans would need the British help for all the international affairs. [...]