A Conversation for The European Union
Winston Churchill's 1946 Zurich speech
Simon B Started conversation Jul 25, 2002
It is interesting that this article should begin with mention of Winston Churchill's "United States of Europe" speech. Although it may appear that this indicated an inital British enthusiasm for the European project, this is actually misleading.
Churchill was commenting more upon what the "other" European nations - particularly France and Germany - could best do to rebuild Europe. The UK - and in particular, the Conservative party - remained focussed on the Empire. This can be seen as a continuation of Britain's historical attitude to mainland Europe: let's do everything we can do keep it quiet over there so that we can concentrate on our Empire.
A better explanation of all this can be found at:
http://www.liv-coll.ac.uk/pa09/europetrip/brussels/churchill.htm
Should Churchill have recognised that this was the time to actively engage on a permanent basis in the affairs of mainland Europe?
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Winston Churchill's 1946 Zurich speech
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