The Awkward Partner
"I am here in a country that hardly resembles the rest of Europe," said the French philosopher Montesquieu in 1729. Europe, then known as the 'old continent', was an aggregate of great powers, which had no interest in any sort of unification. Nearly three centuries later, new nations have emerged and new industrial powers have developed. International relations are by far more complex and the concept of Europe as a Community, economical as well as political, made its way into the minds of European countries' leaders. Agreements were signed in Paris (1951), and then in Rome (1957), setting up a European Community between just six countries. The reforms being mainly economical so far, this partnership is now composed of 15 and soon there will be 25 member states. Only a year after being accepted into the European Union, Britain was already regarded as an 'awkward partner': a reputation that still remains today. In this essay I will not try to write the history of Britain in the European Union from its entry in 1973. My aim is to take a look at Britain's attitude regarding certain events of the composition of the European Union, and discuss whether or not this attitude is a factor of Britain's 'awkward' reputation. We will try to u
NATO, created by the Brussels Treaty in 1948, confirmed America's commitment to Europe's defence but also confirmed Britain's preference for an 'Atlantic' rather than western European solution to international affairs. Despite its new agreements, the United States started expressing the wish to see Britain involved in a strong European Community. Bevin was satisfied of the 'special relationship' linking the two countries, but it seemed that this 'special relationship' was out-dated. The US openly encouraged the British foreign office to take a more active part in the new emerging European Community. One of the first reasons for creating a European Community was the fear of war and invasion. Europe did not want another World War and France and Germany quickly agreed that the only way of avoiding a new conflict was to create strong links between European countries. Britain, after the war, was in a completely different situation. She had not suffered the same damages as the rest of the continent. Her economy remained stronger than that of any other western European country. The image of a powerful industrial and trading nation keeping strong links with the United States and the Commonwealth was still in British minds. The Foreign Office highly promoted a policy of 'atlanticism' and Britain often claimed to belong to three circles of interests: the United States, the Commonwealth and the European Community. This apparent easiness to recover from the war is one of the major explanations for Britain's rather low interest in Europe: conveying the false idea of a healthy and strong economy. Britain has been an 'awkward' partner, especially with her 'special relationship' with the United States, which led to tensions with France and the EU in general. Britain has been reluctant and suspicious, causing delay in her entry and then being vetoed by a reluctant De Gaulle. Once a member, Thatcher made Britain an 'awkward' partner through her tough policies and Major's 'opt-outs' reinforce that singularity Britain always carries. Blair tends to be interested in the integration of Britain into the EU and even though Gordon Brown is uncertain about that option, Britain could well catch up with the two leaders and take a good start in the new 25-country European Union.
Some common words found in the essay are:
European Union, Italy Benelux, France Germany, European Community, De Gaulle, Maastricht Treaty, Economic Community, United Britain's, Italy Germany, European Community's, european community, de gaulle, france germany, european union, prime minister, towards europe, western european, world war, 'awkward partner', 'special relationship', britain 'awkward' partner, european countries britain,
Approximate Word count = 2417
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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