Britain's EEC Membership (1973) & Referendum (1975)

Question 1

Britain Joining the EEC (1973)

Answer 1

• French president, de Gaulle, retired
• 1969: EEC invited Britain to re-apply
• Britain became a full EEC member in 1973
• Heath rushed to comply with their conditions of entry, told his officials to accept any terms and that they’d sort it out once they’d joined

Question 2

Weakness of Britain’s Bargaining Position

Answer 2

• Britain couldn’t survive economically on its own, couldn’t afford to remain outside
• Britain couldn’t negotiate as the terms and structures of the EEC had already been set up w/o Britain
• One of the most significant demands was that Commonwealth food and goods would no longer enter Britain on preferential terms
• Australia and New Zealand had a European tariff placed on them
• Britain had to sacrifice the Commonwealth’s economic relationship

Question 3

Advantages of Joining the EEC

Answer 3

• Gained access to European markets
• Better chance of attracting foreign business and investments
• British regions entitled to European regional development granted
• British workers had the right to work and live in other EEC countries

Question 4

Disadvantages of Joining the EEC

Answer 4

• No longer able to buy cheap food from the Commonwealth
• At the time of entry, Britain was classified as an advanced industrial economy, had to make higher contributions to the EEC budget
• Early 1980s: Britain was paying 20% of revenue raised by the EEC, receiving only 8% of EEC expenditure
• Common Agricultural Policy: British consumers paying for inflated food prices
• Common Fisheries Policy: Severely restricted Britain’s right to fish in its own customary fishing grounds, led to the virtual destruction of the UK’s fishing industry
• Britain had to impose VAT on most commodities which British consumers brought
• 1973: VAT began at 8%, later doubled to 17.5%
• EEC was already beginning to look dated now that the era of global markets was beginning

Question 5

Post-Referendum Eurosepticism

Answer 5

• Opponents of the ‘Yes’ campaign claimed that the whole affair had been a betrayal of democracy
• Also pointed out that the ‘Yes’ campaign was funded by the EEC, able to spend twice as much on the ‘No’ campaign proportions which exactly matched the vote distribution
• OPEC Energy Crisis outweighed the gains that were made from joining the EEC due to stagflation
• British exports declined after 1973
• Effects of the membership was greatly increased financial costs with no real trade benefits
• Deception was not Europe’s fault and the members of the EEC made no attempt to hide the truth