The first refusal and the second attempt
The European Economic Community, often called the Common Market, was founded by the Treaty of Rome in 1957 with six members: France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Britain stayed outside at first, preferring a looser free-trade arrangement and relying on its Commonwealth ties. By the early 1960s the British government under Harold Macmillan concluded that the country’s economic and political future lay closer to Europe, and it applied to join in 1961.
Charles de Gaulle ended that attempt at a press conference in January 1963. He said, in effect, that Britain was not yet ready for membership, citing its island character, its Commonwealth links and its close relationship with the United States. The refusal came shortly after a British-American arrangement on nuclear missiles, which strengthened his suspicion that Britain would act as an American proxy inside Europe.
Wilson changes course
Harold Wilson’s Labour Party had been cautious about the Common Market in opposition. In office, however, the government faced slow growth, repeated pressure on the pound and a shrinking imperial role. By 1966 Wilson began to explore the idea, and in early 1967 he and his foreign secretary, George Brown, toured the capitals of the Six to test opinion. Wilson announced the intention to apply in the House of Commons on 2 May, and the formal application was lodged on 11 May 1967. Ireland, Denmark and Norway also applied around the same time, as their trade was closely tied to Britain’s.
De Gaulle’s cold response was already visible in the weeks before. In a press conference in mid-May he said that the British economy would need substantial changes before entry could be considered, and he mentioned the position of sterling as an international reserve currency. This reflected his belief that British membership would alter the character of the Community.
The pound intervenes
On 18 November 1967 the British government devalued sterling from 2.80 US dollars to 2.40 dollars, a cut of about 14 per cent. The decision followed a prolonged run on the currency, and it was a political blow for Wilson, who had spent years saying that devaluation would be avoided. It also gave de Gaulle a convenient argument. A country that had just devalued, he suggested, was not yet in a condition to join a union of stable economies. The pound devaluation had been forced by a long run of trade deficits and sales of sterling.
The press conference of 27 November
Nine days later, on 27 November, de Gaulle held a press conference at the Élysée Palace. He did not formally veto the application, since only the member states acting together could decide it. In practice, however, he made clear that France would not agree to open negotiations. Among his points were that Britain’s economy was weak, that the Community’s agricultural arrangements, then being settled, would be difficult for Britain to accept, and that joining would change the Community in ways that France did not want. He also referred to a future in which Britain would have undergone a deep transformation.
On the broader question, he did not simply object to British membership in principle. He said that he saw the possibility of an arrangement of association or trade cooperation in the meantime. The British government rejected this as an inadequate alternative.
The reaction in Europe
In December, ministers of the Six met in Brussels to discuss the matter. Five of them, including West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries, favoured opening negotiations. France refused, and because decisions of this kind required unanimity, the application could not proceed. The British government did not withdraw it, keeping it formally on the table. The affair left a reputation in Britain for French obstruction, and it left a sense of frustration among those on the continent who believed the Community would be stronger with Britain inside.
At the same time, the episode revealed something about Community politics. The members disagreed sharply about the balance between national and shared decision-making, and the dispute over British entry became tied to that wider argument.
The way in
The next change came from French politics. De Gaulle resigned in April 1969 after losing a referendum, and his successor, Georges Pompidou, took a more flexible line. At a summit in The Hague in December 1969, the Six agreed in principle to enlargement. Negotiations opened in 1970 under the Conservative government of Edward Heath, who had long been committed to the cause. Britain, Ireland and Denmark joined on 1 January 1973. Norway’s voters rejected membership in a referendum in 1972.
Britain’s membership remained contested for decades, and a referendum in 1975 confirmed it by a clear margin. The 1967 veto matters to historians partly because it shows how early the question of Britain’s place in Europe was tied to economic anxiety, to relations with the United States, and to differing ideas about what the Community should become. It also shows how much power one leader could exercise over a collective decision.