The European Union Since 1945

by Alasdair Blair

Overview

Blair (international relations, Coventry U., UK) describes the economic and political factors that shaped the process of European integration as the ECC led to the EC which led to the EU. He begins with the situation at the close of the Second World War and shortly after, when it seemed a shared economic outlook could be one deterrent to further conflict. Discussion includes the emergence of unity within certain market sectors, the growth of the community, its crisis of faith from 1969 to 1979, renewed progress and creation of the Single European Act in the 1980s, and the transformation of the majority of Europe into a co-active, but not monolithic political and economic entity from the 1990s to the present. Relevant primary documents are included in a special section. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138835177
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/24/2014
Series:	Seminar Studies
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.44(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alasdair Blair is Jean Monnet Professor of International Relations and Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor Education at De Montfort University.  He has written widely on British foreign policy, European integration and the scholarship of teaching and learning in Political Science.  He has written over 10 books and 50 journal articles.  He is lead editor of the Journal of Political Science Education and was previously a co-editor of European Political Science and reviews editor of European Foreign Affairs Review.  He is a National Teaching Fellow, a Principal Fellow of Advance HE and a Senior Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology.

Table of Contents

Publisher's acknowledgements x

Author's acknowledgements xiii

Maps xiv

Preface to the second edition xxi

Abbreviations xxiii

Chronology xxv

Who's who xxxix

Glossary xliv

Part 1 Background 1

1 The Context of European Integration 3

Part 2 Analysis 11

2 The Road to Rome: 1945-57 13

The Emergence of European Unity 13

The Hague Congress 19

The Coal and Steel Community 20

The Failure of the European Defence Community 25

The Treaties of Rome 27

3 Constructing the Community: 1958-70 30

Institutional Design 30

Policies and Competencies 33

The Nationalist Backlash 37

The Spirit of The Hague 43

4 The Enlarged Community: 1970-84 48

The First Enlargement 48

Britain's Indecision 53

Eurosclerosis 56

Transatlantic Difficulties 58

Britain's Budgetary Question 60

5 The Transformation of Europe: 1985-93 64

Creating the Internal Market 64

The Single European Act 69

The Road to 1992 71

Europe's Changing Map 74

The Maastricht Treaty 79

6 Building a New Europe: 1994-2010 84

Enlarging the EU 84

Treaty of Amsterdam 87

Treaty of Nice 91

The Fifth Enlargement and Constitutional Reform 93

Lisbon and Beyond 96

Part 3 Assessment 101

7 The Future of European Integration 103

Boundaries of Europe 107

Nature of Membership 108

The Limit of European Integration 111

Part 4 Documents 113

1 The Briand Memorandum, 1 May 1930 114

2 Winston Churchill's Speech at Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri, 5 March 1946 114

3 Winston Churchill's Speech at Zurich University on the Subject of a United States of Europe, 19 September 1946 115

4 The Marshall Plan. Speech by the US Secretary of State General George Marshall at Harvard University, 5 June 1947 116

5 The Bevin Speech on Western Union, 22 January 1948 116

6 The Brussels Treaty, 17 March 1948 117

7 The North Atlantic Treaty, 4 April 1949 118

8 The Statute of the Council of Europe, 5 May 1949 118

9 The Schuman Declaration, 9 May 1950 119

10 The Pléven Plan, 24 October 1950 119

11 Treaty Establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, 18 April 1951 121

12 The European Defence Community Treaty, 27 May 1952 121

13 The Messina Declaration, 1-2 June 1955 122

14 The Treaty of Rome Establishing the European Economic Community, 25 March 1957 123

15 Britain's First Application for EEC Membership 125

16 France's Rejection of British EEC Membership, 14 January 1963 126

17 The Franco-German Treaty of Friendship, 22 January 1963 127

18 The Merger Treaty, 8 April 1965 127

19 The Luxembourg Compromise, 28-29 January 1966 128

20 Britain's Second Application for EEC Membership, 2 May 1967 129

21 The Hague Summit, 2 December 1969 129

22 The Werner Report, October 1970 130

23 The Davignon Report, 27 October 1970 131

24 European Monetary Cooperation: the 'Snake'. Resolution of the Council of Ministers, 21 March 1972 132

25 Establishing the European Council, 9-10 December 1974 133

26 The Tindemans Report on European Union, 29 December 1975 134

27 Establishment of the European Monetary System, 5 December 1978 134

28 The EEC Court of Justice and the Free Movement of Goods, 20 February 1979 135

29 British Budget Problem 136

30 The Single European Act 137

31 Completing the Internal Market 137

32 Speech Given by the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, at the College of Europe, Bruges, 20 September 1988 139

33 The Delors Report on Monetary Union 139

34 Creating the Single Currency 140

35 Enlarging the European Union 142

36 Council Voting and European Parliament Representation 144

37 Voter turnout in European Parliament Elections 145

Further Reading 146

References 153

Index 159

Editorial Reviews

The European Union Since 1945 should be read by undergraduates in introductory EU courses, policy practitioners who are interested in how the European project developed over time, and by the intelligent general reader. This is an excellent example of how an accessible textbook with crucial supporting documents should be written, documented and presented.”

Neil Winn, European Foreign Affairs Review

“...The most concise and accurate description of the development of European institutions and their policies.”

Michael J. Steffens, Political Studies Review

“The author is balanced in his presentation of the controversies surrounding the organisation and its future.”

Dr James Munson, Contemporary Review

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