Georges Berthoin
Full interview
Background
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: his nomination as Head of Jean Monnet’s Private Office
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin discusses the beginnings of his European career when, in 1952, he was recruited by Jean Monnet, President of the ECSC High Authority, to become Head of his Private Office until Monnet’s resignation in June 1955.
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the political activities of Georges Berthoin in London
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) then of the Commission of the European Communities to the United Kingdom until 1973, discusses the way in which he carried out his role in London.
Writings
The diplomatic mission of the High Authority to London
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the early stages of the diplomatic mission of the High Authority in London
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and subsequently of the Commission of the European Communities to the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the first steps and the legal implications of the diplomatic mission of the High Authority, which was established in London in 1956.
The Association Agreement between the ECSC and the United Kingdom
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the Association Agreement between the ECSC and the United Kingdom
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Principal Private Secretary (from 1952 to 1956) to Jean Monnet and then to René Mayer during their respective Presidencies of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), describes the course of the negotiations in 1954 and the implementation of the Association Agreement between the ECSC and the United Kingdom from 1955.
Agreement concerning the relations between the United Kingdom and the ECSC (London, 21 December 1954)
TextOn 21 December 1954, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the United Kingdom sign an agreement on the basis of which the two parties intend to establish an intimate and enduring association.
Association agreement between the ECSC and the United Kingdom (21 December 1954)
ImageOn 21 December 1954, in London, the British Government, represented by the Minister, Duncan Sandys, and the President of the ECSC High Authority, Jean Monnet, sign an association agreement between the ECSC and the United Kingdom.
Inaugural meeting of the ECSC-United Kingdom Association Council (Luxembourg, 17 November 1955)
VideoOn 17 November 1955, René Mayer, President of the High Authority, delivers the inaugural address of the ECSC-United Kingdom Association Council. Three permanent committees are subsequently established: coal, steel and trade relations.
The OEEC, the Maudling Committee and EFTA
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the OEEC, the Maudling Committee and EFTA
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and subsequently Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities in the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the state of relations between General de Gaulle and the leaders of the United Kingdom as France twice rejected, in 1963 and 1967, the opening of negotiations for the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities.
Memorandum from the United Kingdom on the European Free Trade Area (February 1957)
TextIn February 1957, the British Government forwards a memorandum to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in Paris in which it sets out its views on the establishment of a European Free Trade Area.
Letter from Charles de Gaulle to Harold Macmillan (Paris, 15 November 1958)
TextOn 15 November 1958, the French President, Charles de Gaulle, explains to the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, why he considers the existence of the Common Market and the obligations that it entails for its Member States to be incompatible with plans for a single industrial free-trade area in Europe.
Cartoon by Low on the negotiations for a free-trade area in Europe (15 July 1958)
ImageOn 15 July 1958, the British cartoonist, David Low, illustrates the opposition of General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, to the negotiations for the establishment of a large free-trade area in Europe.
Charles de Gaulle and the United Kingdom
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: relations between de Gaulle and the United Kingdom
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and subsequently Head of the Delegation of the Commission of the European Communities in the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the state of relations between General de Gaulle and the leaders of the United Kingdom as France twice rejected, in 1963 and 1967, the opening of negotiations for the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities.
Press conference held by General de Gaulle (14 January 1963)
TextOn 14 January 1963, General de Gaulle holds a press conference at the Elysée Palace, during which he declares his opposition to the United Kingdom's accession to the European Common Market.
Cartoon by Behrendt on De Gaulle and the United Kingdom's membership of the EC
Image‘On the road towards the EEC', the French president, Charles de Gaulle, represents the biggest and most difficult obstacle to overcome for the British prime minister, Harold Wilson.
Press conference held by Charles de Gaulle: the second veto (Paris, 27 November 1967)
VideoOn 27 November 1967, General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, holds a press conference at the Élysée Palace in which he renews and explains his opposition to the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities.
The United Kingdom’s applications for accession to the European Communities
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the motives behind the United Kingdom's applications for accession in 1961 and 1967
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), then of the Commission of the European Communities to the United Kingdom until 1973, comments on the political and economic motives behind the United Kingdom's first two applications for accession to the European Communities in 1961 and 1967.
Address given by Harold Macmillan on the United Kingdom's application for membership to the EC (31 July 1961)
TextOn 31 July 1961, Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister, announces to the House of Commons his Government's decision formally to apply for the accession of the United Kingdom to the European Economic Community (EEC).
The United Kingdom submits its application for accession to the ECSC (Luxembourg, 1962)
VideoOn 3 February 1962, Sir Michael Tandy, British Ambassador to Luxembourg, delivers to the Luxembourger Christian Calmes, Secretary-General of the Special Council of Ministers of the ECSC, Britain's application for accession to the European Coal and Steel Community.
Statement by Harold Wilson on the United Kingdom's application for membership to the EC (London, 2 May 1967)
TextOn 2 May 1967, British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, delivers a speech to the House of Commons in which he defends the United Kingdom's application for accession to the European Economic Communities.
The empty chair crisis
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the empty chair crisis as seen by the British
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Head of the Delegation of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), then of the Commission of the European Communities to the United Kingdom until 1973, describes the attitude taken by the British authorities with regard to the empty chair crisis and the Luxembourg Compromise in 1965–1966.
The empty chair crisis
ImageFrom 30 June 1965 to 29 January 1966, in disagreement with the Commission of the European Communities on the financing of the common agricultural policy (CAP), France’s representatives refuse to attend any intergovernmental meetings of the Community bodies in Brussels.
Interview with Paul-Henri Spaak on the empty chair crisis (14 July 1965)
VideoOn 14 July 1965, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, answers questions put to him by journalists who have come to interview him following a meeting with his French counterpart Maurice Couve de Murville on the subject of the empty chair crisis.
The ‘empty chair crisis’ (Pathé, January 1966)
VideoThe Extraordinary EEC Council of Ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 17 and 18 and on 28 and 29 January 1966, heeds France's calls for the implementation of the majority voting rule and the role of the European Commission. The ‘Luxembourg Compromise' reached by the Council brings to an end the ‘empty chair crisis' prevailing since 30 June 1965.
The British perception of European integration
Interview with Georges Berthoin (Paris, 22 July 2005) — Excerpt: the British perception of European integration
VideoIn this interview, Georges Berthoin, Chief Representative of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), then of the European Communities in London from 1956 to 1973, analyses what the British people thought of European integration in the 1950s and 1960s.