The EEC Crisis of 1963: Kennedy, Macmillan, de Gaulle and Adenauer in Conflict

304 Pages·2000·1.293 MB·English

by  Oliver Bange (auth.)

The EEC Crisis of 1963
Kennedy, Macmillan, de Gaulle and Adenauer in
Conflict
Oliver Bange
CONTEMPORARY HISTORY IN CONTEXT
Published in association with the Institute of Contemporary British History
General Editor: Peter Catterall, Director, Institute of Contemporary
British History
Titles include:
Oliver Bange
THE EEC CRISIS OF 1963
Kennedy, Macmillan, de Gaulle and Adenauer in Conflict
Christopher Brady
UNITED STATES FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS CAMBODIA,
1977–92
Peter Catterall and Sean McDougall (editors)
THE NORTHERN IRELAND QUESTION IN BRITISH POLITICS
Helen Fawcett and Rodney Lowe (editors)
WELFARE POLICY IN BRITAIN
The Road from 1945
Harriet Jones and Michael Kandiah (editors)
THE MYTH OF CONSENSUS
New Views on British History, 1945–64
Wolfram Kaiser
USING EUROPE, ABUSING THE EUROPEANS
Britain and European Integration, 1945–63
Keith Kyle
THE POLITICS OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF KENYA
Spencer Mawby
CONTAINING GERMANY
Britain and the Arming of the Federal Republic
Jeffrey Pickering
BRITAIN’S WITHDRAWAL FROM EAST OF SUEZ
The Politics of Retrenchment
L. V. Scott
MACMILLAN, KENNEDY AND THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Political, Military and Intelligence Aspects
Paul Sharp
THATCHER’S DIPLOMACY
The Revival of British Foreign Policy
Contemporary History in Context
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The EEC Crisis of 1963
Kennedy, Macmillan, de Gaulle and
Adenauer in Conflict
Oliver Bange
Preface by Peter Catterall
in association with
Palgrave Macmillan
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-349-39958-1 ISBN 978-0-230-28627-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230286276
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
ISBN 978-0-312-22018-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bange, Oliver.
The EEC crisis of 1963 : Kennedy, Macmillan, de Gaulle and Adenauer
in conflict / Oliver Bange.
p. cm. — (Contemporary history in context series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-22018-1 (cloth)
1. World politics—1955–1965. 2. European federation.
3. International relations. 4. European Economic Community
countries—Politics and government. I. Title. II. Series.
D843.B255 1999
327'.094'09046—dc21 98–51153
CIP
©Oliver Bange 2000
General Editor's Preface ©Peter Catterall 2000
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-67743-8
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with
written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
Contents
List of Cartoons ix
Preface xi
General Editor’s Preface xiii
Introduction 1
PART I GRAND DESIGNS AND THE
RATIONALE BEHIND THE FIRST
BRITISH EEC NEGOTIATIONS
1 Macmillan’s Grand Design (1959–60) as a
Starting Point for the Application 10
1.1 British membership in the European
Communities: good reasons and an early
master plan 10
1.2 American pressures: Washington’s political
objectives and the Dillon talks of 1959 11
1.3 Decisive moments: the meeting between
Eisenhower and Macmillan at Camp David,
March 1960, and the formation of the Lee
Committee, April 1960 13
1.4 The Prime Minister’s Grand Design papers 16
2 The Main Obstacle: de Gaulle 20
2.1 British approaches and French ambiguities 20
2.2 De Gaulle’s idea of Europe 22
2.3 La note Peyrefitte: a temporary answer to
open contradictions 25
2.4 An overall tactic, a temporary aid, an
eventuality or a sinister ploy? An attempt to
estimate the influence of Peyrefitte’s ideas 27
v
vvii Contents
3 A Quid Pro Quo Deal? 30
3.1 The ‘nuclear card’ 30
3.2 First approaches to the Americans 31
3.3 Macmillan makes an offer to Kennedy 33
3.4 How far was Macmillan prepared to go
towards a nuclear deal? 35
4 Different American Ideas 37
4.1 The new American administration 37
4.2 The American ‘no’ to a nuclear deal 38
4.3 The visit to Paris 39
4.4 The American position towards the British
application 40
4.5 Kennedy’s Grand Design 42
5 Kennedy Reconsiders the American Offer 44
5.1 American thinking in early 1962 44
5.2 Incentives for a revision 45
5.3 Rethinking: the shape of things to come 46
5.4 Brussels and Nassau, two sides of the same
concept 47
5.5 The argument: Nassau – a genuine offer to
the French? 49
6 Adenauer Takes His Stand 52
6.1 European policies in 1959/60: on a course of
confrontation 52
6.2 Adenauer and the question of British
accession in 1960 and 1961 53
6.3 Official German position during the
negotiations in Brussels 56
6.4 Adenauer’s second thoughts: January to
June 1962 57
6.5 Adenauer’s preparations: May to July 1962 59
6.6 Adenauer’s attempt to sell his decision:
after June 1962 63
6.7 The British and the Americans: who knew
what, and when? 67
Contents vii
PART II THE STORY OF ADENAUER’S AND DE
GAULLE’S COMPROMISE: A FRESH
LOOK AT THE CRITICAL EVENTS OF
JANUARY 1963
7 Nassau: A New Look at its Meaning and its
Promotion 73
7.1 American approaches to the French: a genuine
offer? 73
7.2 American illusions over the French reception 75
7.3 Another important scenario: the German
reception of the MLF offer 78
7.4 The George Ball story 80
8 Heath and the Atlanticists – Heath’s ‘Big Push’ 86
8.1 ‘Concerted Action’ – the British plan and
the tactics of personal pressure 86
8.2 Chequers: a crucial meeting on the way to
a final deal in Brussels 93
9 Before the Veto 102
9.1 Adenauer before the veto 102
9.2 Washington before the veto 104
10 De Gaulle’s Infamous Press Conference 108
10.1 Preparations in Brussels 108
10.2 The bombshell: de Gaulle’s press conference 109
10.3 Reactions to the press conference 112
11 The Ministerial Meeting – A First Dramatic
Encounter 117
11.1 The clash at Brussels 117
11.2 Public reactions to the crisis at Brussels 125
11.3 Adenauer’s perception of the situation 126
12 Anglo-American Co-ordination towards a
Breakdown in Brussels 129
12.1 The situation in Washington – setting the
mould for crisis and confrontation 130
12.2 A change of objectives: towards a useful
breakdown in Brussels 135
viii Contents
13 Adenauer’s and de Gaulle’s Plan for a
Compromise 151
13.1 International pressure on Adenauer 151
13.2 Adenauer on the eve of the Conference:
will he confront de Gaulle? 155
13.3 The Elysée Conference and an
understanding between two old men 157
14 Hysteria in the Western Camp: 22–28
January 1963 165
14.1 Adenauer and the Auswärtiges Amt:
differences in outlook and judgement 165
14.2 First rumours of a compromise at the Elysée
conference 169
14.3 British reactions: from complete lack of alternatives
to the attempt to alter the
Elysée deal 170
14.4 Contradictory stands in Brussels: the
Commission and the Belgians 175
14.5 American reactions 177
14.6 Hysteria and rumours 188
14.7 The French defensive 192
14.8 Reactions in the Federal Republic 195
15 The Breakdown in Brussels – Purely the
Fault of the French? 207
15.1 Interpretation of the events 207
15.2 A fresh look at the Brussels breakdown 219
15.3 Immediate reactions 231
Conclusion 234
Notes and References 238
Bibliography 273
Index 284
List of Cartoons
1 The Europe of de Gaulle (11 February 1961) 23
2 Plastic surgery (7 July 1962) 43
3 The Euro Club (4 August 1962) 58
4 The proud British lion (21 July 1962) 60
5 Walpurgis night (18 January 1963) 113
6 All hands on deck (12 January 1963) 118
7 The accolade (29 January 1963) 152
8 We sail against England (22 January 1963) 166
9 We’re engaged (26 January 1963) 208
ix