Fiche de révision : UK and European Integration: History and Politics

📋 Course Outline

1. European integration after World War II
2. UK reluctance toward EEC membership
3. British accession and De Gaulle’s veto
4. Thatcher’s euroscepticism and Bruges speech
5. CAP budget crisis and UK opt-outs
6. Maastricht Treaty and the Social Chapter
7. Rise of UKIP and eurosceptic turn
8. Brexit referendum campaign and vote divides
9. Brexit negotiations, hard vs soft options
10. Brexit economic impacts and post-2016 politics
11. UK-EU security partnership and Erasmus association

📖 1. European integration after World War II

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• European integration : European integration is the post-1945 process where European states cooperate to rebuild and prevent renewed conflict.
• Franco-German reconciliation : Franco-German reconciliation is the political settlement between France and Germany presented as the core of European unity.
• Council of Europe : The Council of Europe is an institution Churchill said Europe needed as part of its unity effort.
• United States of Europe : United States of Europe is the idea of a unified Europe that Churchill argued could give Europe a stronger global position.
• Maastricht Treaty : The Maastricht Treaty is the 1992 agreement that led to the EU as a supranational organization.

📝 Essential Points

• After World War II, European countries sought cooperation to recover from war damages rather than act alone.
• European states were considered too small to be economically and militarily viable separately in a world dominated by the USA and the Soviet Union.
• Working together was presented as a way to reduce the risk of conflict breaking out again between European countries.
• In his 1946 Zurich speech, Winston Churchill argued that Europe’s chance in the world required a United States of Europe built around Franco-German reconciliation.
• Churchill supported the need for a Council of Europe but did not describe joining the United States of Europe as a formal requirement for the UK.
• The EU became a supranational organization after the signature of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

💡 Memory Hook

Post-1945 logic: small states + superpower world → unity to rebuild and stop wars; Churchill 1946 = Franco-German core.

📖 2. UK reluctance toward EEC membership

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• EEC membership reluctance : Political attitude in which the UK hesitated to join the EEC despite its creation and the move toward European integration.
• Treaty of Rome : Treaty signed in 1957 that created the EEC framework to build a common market and coordinate trade through a common external tariff.
• European Commission : Executive institution of the EEC that drafts proposals for new European legislation and implements the decisions taken at EU level.
• Commonwealth : International association of former British Empire territories linked by shared ties, representing British influence through economic and cultural connections.

📝 Essential Points

• The UK government in the 1950s is presented as not wanting the EEC to succeed.
• The EEC was founded in 1957 to develop a common market with a common external tariff on imports.
• The UK’s main objection was loss of control over its economy and risk of being governed by the European Commission.
• The UK opposed the idea of a federal European community.
• Macmillan did not sign the Treaty of Rome.
• Fear existed that joining would damage the UK’s ability to grant preferences to Commonwealth goods, such as butter from New Zealand, and that about 40% of UK exports went to the empire.

💡 Memory Hook

Loss of control + Commonwealth ties + free-trade worldview → UK hesitated to join the EEC.

📖 3. British accession and De Gaulle’s veto

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Commonwealth : An international organisation of former British Empire territories linked by shared language plus economic and cultural ties.
• EEC : A European economic community that created a large, prosperous market near Britain and became a major focus of British trade policy.
• Special relationship with the USA : A close UK–US relationship that Britain feared could be harmed by too deep European economic integration.
• De Gaulle’s veto : De Gaulle’s refusal to allow British entry to the EEC, expressed publicly in January 1963 and reinforced by breaking off negotiations.

📝 Essential Points

• About 40% of Britain’s exports went to the empire, making Commonwealth ties central to British economic thinking.
• Britain questioned joining the EEC because it was at the head of a major global organisation and risked weakening its world role.
• De Gaulle refused twice to accept UK entry and broke off negotiations over British accession.
• In January 1963, De Gaulle vetoed British entry by arguing Britain had extensive world links, was too close to the USA, and benefited from Commonwealth cheap food.
• Britain applied to join the EEC, but admission only happened in January 1973 (with Eire and Denmark), after De Gaulle’s resignation in 1969.
• Pompidou was less hostile than De Gaulle but still secured conditions that the UK might have found difficult to accept.

💡 Memory Hook

Commonwealth + USA ties = De Gaulle’s “no”; De Gaulle resigns (1969) → UK finally enters (1973).

📖 4. Thatcher’s euroscepticism and Bruges speech

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Euroscepticism : Euroscepticism is a political attitude that questions the power, direction, or legitimacy of European integration.
• Bruges speech : The Bruges speech is Margaret Thatcher’s 1988 address to the College of Europe expressing a strongly critical view of Brussels and the EEC.
• Jacques Delors : Jacques Delors is the European Commission president whose pro-federalisation stance clashed with Thatcher’s position.
• Sovereignism : Sovereignism is the belief that national parliaments and states should retain primary control over internal affairs rather than ceding power to supranational bodies.

📝 Essential Points

• Thatcher portrayed “Brussels” as having excessive power and used a very negative tone toward the EEC in her 1988 Bruges speech.
• The British press helped fuel euroscepticism, intensifying public discord around the EEC.
• Thatcher argued that Europe was not created by the Treaty of Rome but by shared history and culture over thousands of years.
• She linked Britain to Europe through Romanisation, the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and Britain’s resistance against Nazi Germany in World War II.
• The speech was widely read as anti-European because it responded to Jacques Delors, a campaigner for federalisation.
• Thatcher feared that the European Parliament’s creation in 1979 would gradually reduce domestic parliaments’ control over internal matters, even if its power was limited until 2007.

💡 Memory Hook

Bruges 1988 = “Brussels too powerful” + “Europe from history, not Rome” + “Delors federalism clash”.

📖 5. CAP budget crisis and UK opt-outs

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Common Agricultural Policy CAP : The Common Agricultural Policy is a major EU spending program that supports farmers to keep domestic food production going.
• UK budget contribution : UK budget contribution is the amount the UK paid to the EEC budget, which was higher than some richer members despite being relatively poor.
• Schengen opt-out 1985 : The Schengen opt-out is the UK decision in 1985 not to join the Schengen area, keeping border controls for travel between member states.
• Bruges speech turning point : The Bruges speech is a moment when Thatcher framed the EEC as a trade association of sovereign states rather than a socialist-governed project.

📝 Essential Points

• In 1980, a major crisis broke out over CAP reform as Britain challenged how the EU budget was allocated.
• The UK paid £1209M to the EEC budget, while Germany paid £699M and France paid £13M.
• Britain’s higher payment was linked to importing more goods from outside the EEC than other member states.
• Thatcher sought a reduction of Britain’s contribution through tough bargaining, leading to a compromise of several million pounds less.
• Thatcher’s European stance included refusing the Single Market in 1986, including a move toward a fully free common market among the 12 EEC members.

💡 Memory Hook

CAP = “farm money”; UK paid more because imports from outside EEC were high, so Thatcher fought for budget cuts and opted out of deeper market integration.

📖 6. Maastricht Treaty and the Social Chapter

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Maastricht Treaty : The Maastricht Treaty created a new stage of European integration by establishing the EU and expanding agreed policy areas.
• European Parliament powers : European Parliament powers refer to the treaty agreement that increased the Parliament’s authority within the EU institutional system.
• Monetary Union : Monetary Union is the treaty plan to coordinate member states’ monetary policy as a step toward deeper economic integration.
• Social Chapter : The Social Chapter is a set of work-related regulations meant to protect people from exploitation at work.
• UK opt-outs : UK opt-outs are exceptions that partially exempted the UK from general EU obligations while it remained a full member in form.

📝 Essential Points

• The CAP absorbed about three quarters of the European budget, which fed a British sense of unequal benefit and contributed to a budget crisis.
• Britain objected to the Social Chapter because it claimed the rules would raise production costs and lead to unemployment.
• Other member states prioritized worker protection more than Britain’s cost-and-jobs argument when deciding the Social Chapter’s fate.
• The Social Chapter was removed from the Maastricht Treaty and left to national governments to decide whether to implement.
• Although the UK stayed a full member in form, its opt-outs placed it at the margins of EU obligations and integration.

💡 Memory Hook

Maastricht = “EU upgrade”; Social Chapter = “work protections” that Britain rejects, so it gets cut and left to national choice.

📖 7. Rise of UKIP and eurosceptic turn

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• UKIP : UKIP is a UK political party founded to oppose closer European integration and to campaign for leaving the EU.
• Nigel Farage : Nigel Farage is the founder of UKIP and a leading figure in its eurosceptic, anti-EU message.
• Maastricht Treaty : The Maastricht Treaty is the European agreement cited as a trigger for UKIP’s creation in response to deeper integration.
• Brexit referendum : The Brexit referendum is the vote that led to Britain leaving the EU, referenced through the “ballot box” in the materials.

📝 Essential Points

• After 2010, the Conservatives’ return to power coincided with a more eurosceptic British policy direction.
• UKIP was founded as a response to the Maastricht Treaty and positioned itself as nationalist, populist, and xenophobic against closer EU integration.
• UKIP membership grew from 10,000 in 2010 to 35,000 in 2016.
• UKIP campaigned for Britain to leave the EU, explicitly linking its platform to Brexit.
• A cartoon shows a Brexiter sawing the Channel to separate the EU from the UK, while a Scotman saws to separate Scotland from England.
• The cartoon also echoes the 2014 SNP referendum on Scottish independence, where Scotland voted 55% to 45% against independence to stay in the EU.

💡 Memory Hook

UKIP = “Maastricht backlash” → membership rises (10k→35k) → Brexit push; cartoon links EU split with Scotland’s 2014 vote.

📖 8. Brexit referendum campaign and vote divides

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Conservative party division : Political concept describing long-standing internal disagreement within the Conservative party over the EU issue.
• UKIP popularity : Political concept for the surge in support for UKIP, especially after strong performance in English local elections.
• North South divide : Geographical concept where Brexit support and opposition cluster by region, often linked to economic conditions.
• EU skepticism in Britain : Attitudinal concept where British public opinion is described as more negative toward the EU than in other European countries.
• Brexit referendum vote : Electoral concept referring to the 23 June 2016 national vote on whether the UK should remain in the EU.

📝 Essential Points

• A 2011 survey reported that only 14% of UK respondents saw themselves as European, versus 48% of Poles, 38% of Germans, and 34% of French.
• The campaign goal is described as weakening UKIP after it won nearly a quarter of the vote in English local elections.
• The text lists causes behind UKIP popularity: sovereignty, immigration and multiculturalism, populism and nationalism, and austerity/poverty blamed on the EU.
• Other stated causes include the 2008 recession, limited knowledge of EU institutions, political manipulation and lies, and hostile tabloid/media coverage.
• On 23 June 2016, 52% voted to leave the EU, with major regional disparities shown by the map.
• The vote is presented as reinforcing a North/South divide, with most Leave voters located in lower-income, high-unemployment areas and Remain concentrated elsewhere (notably London).

💡 Memory Hook

Cause→vote pattern: sovereignty/immigration + austerity blame + 2008 recession + media lies → North/South economic split → Leave vs Remain.

📖 9. Brexit negotiations, hard vs soft options

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Hard Brexit : Hard Brexit is a withdrawal approach that leaves the EU’s customs arrangements to regain full control of trade policy.
• Soft Brexit : Soft Brexit is a withdrawal approach that keeps closer ties with EU structures to reduce disruption to trade and regulation.
• Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty : Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty is the legal mechanism used to trigger a formal process for leaving the EU.
• Referendum Bill : The Referendum Bill is the parliamentary legislation used to set up the EU referendum, described as rushed through Parliament.

📝 Essential Points

• Leave voters were concentrated in lower-income areas with high unemployment, while London voted Remain for economic and legal reasons.
• Only 5% of Leave voters cited poverty or inequality as the top issue, whereas 41% highlighted immigration.
• The campaign framed immigration as a central concern and used xenophobic scapegoating of EU workers.
• The pro-Brexit camp was not only anti-elite; it included leadership from parts of the elite and was shaped by long-standing resentment.
• David Cameron treated the referendum as a personal vote of confidence, and he resigned on June 24, 2016 for Theresa May to take over.

💡 Memory Hook

Hard = customs exit; Soft = keep closer customs ties.

📖 10. Brexit economic impacts and post-2016 politics

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Article 50 Lisbon Treaty : A treaty mechanism that starts the formal process for a country to leave the EU.
• Hard Brexit : A Brexit approach focused on leaving the EU’s customs arrangements, with fewer links to EU rules.
• Soft Brexit : A Brexit approach that keeps closer economic ties with the EU to reduce disruption.
• Hardline Brexit strategy : A political stance that sought a tougher withdrawal line but faced parliamentary limits.

📝 Essential Points

• Article 50 was implemented in October 2016 to begin the UK’s exit process from the EU.
• In July 2016, May publicly rejected any attempt to remain inside the EU.
• May announced a hard Brexit to withdraw from the customs union, but this position was strongly contested.
• EU negotiator Michel Barnier framed his role as defending the interests of the 27 member states.
• Hollande argued the UK could not leave while paying nothing, implying a required “price” for withdrawal.
• May’s hardline approach lost House of Commons majority support, and she lacked a clear programme for negotiations.

💡 Memory Hook

Article 50 = “start the clock” for leaving; hard vs soft = “customs break” vs “closer ties.”

📖 11. UK-EU security partnership and Erasmus association

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• UK-EU Security and Defence partnership : A UK-EU security agreement created to enable structured dialogue and joint initiatives on defence and related threats.
• May 19, 2025 UK-EU meeting : The first UK-EU meeting date when the Security and Defence partnership was concluded.
• Security partnership framework : A set of threat areas the partnership covers, including common security, maritime, cyber, information manipulation, counterterrorism, space, and irregular migration.
• Erasmus association agreement : An announced arrangement linking the UK to the EU Erasmus programme beginning in 2027.

📝 Essential Points

• The partnership aims to facilitate regular high-level dialogue and strategic consultations between the UK and the EU.
• The partnership may allow the UK to join specific EU defence initiatives at a pivotal moment for European and global security.
• The framework includes common security, maritime security, cyber issues and emerging disruptive technologies, and fighting foreign information manipulation.
• The framework also covers counterterrorism, space security, and irregular migration.
• On 17 December 2025, the UK government and the European Commission announced agreement on UK association to Erasmus starting from 2027.

💡 Memory Hook

Think “19 May = Security talks” and “17 Dec = Erasmus link from 2027”.

📅 Key Dates

📊 Synthesis Tables

UK positions toward European integration (contrast across periods)

⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Confusions

1. Confusing the Council of Europe with the EU: the source says Churchill spoke about the need for a Council of Europe but did not require joining the United States of Europe.
2. Mixing up the Treaty of Rome (1957) with the Maastricht Treaty (1992): Rome founded the EEC framework; Maastricht created the EU and expanded policy areas.
3. Thinking De Gaulle veto was permanent: the source says Britain was admitted in January 1973 after De Gaulle’s resignation in 1969.
4. Assuming Thatcher opposed all European Parliament power: the source says its power was not important until 2007, but she feared gradual loss of domestic parliamentary control.
5. Believing the UK budget crisis was only about CAP spending without the “why” of payments: the source links Britain’s higher contribution to importing much more goods from outside the EEC.
6. Reducing Brexit causes to “masses vs elites”: the source explicitly says it is too simple and that the pro-Brexit camp was led by part of the elite and used lies.
7. Confusing hard vs soft Brexit: the source defines hard Brexit as withdrawing from the customs union/customs arrangements, while soft Brexit keeps closer ties to reduce disruption.

✅ Exam Checklist

1. Explain why European unity after WW2 was presented as necessary (small states vs USA/Soviet world; reducing chances of renewed conflict).
2. State Churchill’s 1946 Zurich speech claim about a United States of Europe formed around Franco-German reconciliation and his view on the Council of Europe.
3. Describe what the Maastricht Treaty (1992) did in the course narrative (EU as a supranational organisation; new stage of integration).
4. Give the Treaty of Rome (1957) purpose and the UK’s main 1950s objections (loss of control; European Commission; anti-federal community; Commonwealth preferences; one-world free trade philosophy).
5. Identify the Commonwealth and the “special relationship” with the USA as reasons for UK reluctance, including the role of Commonwealth goods like butter from New Zealand.
6. Summarise De Gaulle’s January 1963 veto reasons (world links; too close to the USA; Commonwealth cheap food) and the fact that Britain was admitted in January 1973 after De Gaulle’s resignation in 1969.
7. Recall Thatcher’s 1988 Bruges speech themes: “Brussels” excessive power, Europe from shared history/culture not the Treaty of Rome, and the clash with Jacques Delors.
8. Explain Thatcher’s fears about the European Parliament (created in 1979; power limited until 2007) and her sovereignist position.
9. Describe the CAP budget crisis (1980) with the stated contribution figures (£1209M vs Germany 699 and France 13) and why Britain paid more (imports from outside the EEC).
10. State Thatcher’s opt-out logic and actions: refusal of the Schengen area in 1985 and refusal of the Single Market in 1986 (move toward a completely free common market between the 12 members).
11. Explain Maastricht’s Social Chapter outcome: Britain objected, it was removed from the treaty, and left to governments while UK opt-outs kept it at the margins.
12. Trace the eurosceptic turn to Brexit: UKIP founded in response to the Maastricht Treaty; membership 10 000 in 2010 to 35 000 in 2016; referendum on 23 June 2016 with 52% leave; North/South divide and the immigration vs “
13. Only 5 % of Leave voters mentioned poverty/inequalities while 41% highlighted immigration.
14. Describe the Brexit process steps in the course: Cameron’s referendum decision and resignation on June 24th 2016; May’s promise to implement Article 50 in October 2016; May’s hard Brexit (customs union) and the contested