Am 30. Juni 1965 stellen die Vertreter Frankreichs, Landwirtschaftsminister Edgard Pisani und Wirtschafts- und Finanzminister Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, die Unvereinbarkeit ihrer Haltung hinsichtlich der Finanzierung der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik (GAP) mit der der Delegationen der fünf anderen Mitgliedstaaten fest.

Der RTL-Journalist Georges Levhat wohnte dem Verhandlungsmarathon in der Agrarpolitik vom 30. Juni 1965 in Brüssel bei. Er beschreibt die Haltung der verschiedenen Akteure und die Atmosphäre bei den Verhandlungen, deren Scheitern die Verärgerung Frankreichs hervorruft, das daraufhin für sechs Monate die Politik des leeren Stuhls praktizieren wird.

On 1 July 1965, Jean-Marc Boegner, Permanent Representative of France to the European Communities, sends a letter to the French Foreign Minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, in which he gives an account of the failure of the Council’s discussions on the financing of the common agricultural policy (CAP) which took place during the night of 30 June 1965.

On 2 July 1965, Jean-Marc Boegner, Permanent Representative of France to the European Communities, sends a letter to the French Foreign Minister, Maurice Couve de Murville, in which he gives an account of the breakdown of the Council’s discussions during the night of 30 June, which led to the empty chair crisis. The talks focused, in particular, on the financing of the common agricultural policy (CAP) and on the role of the European Parliamentary Assembly.

On 5 July 1965, Jacques Delarue Caron de Beaumarchais, Head of Cabinet to French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville, sends a telegram to Jean-Marc Boegner, French Permanent Representative to the European Communities, giving him a series of instructions, in particular on the European Commission's activities and on French participation in meetings of the Councils of the European Economic Community (EEC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) and of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) of some study groups.

On 6 July 1965, the Councils of the European Communities recognise jointly the French Government’s desire not to attend, at least for the time being, any further meetings of the Six.

„Radlos.“ Im Jahr 1965 äußert sich der Schweizer Karikaturist Hans Geisen ironisch über den Entschluss Frankreichs, zumindest vorerst nicht mehr an den Sitzungen der Sechs teilzunehmen, und illustriert die Auswirkungen der Entscheidung des Präsidenten Charles de Gaulle auf den europäischen Integrationsprozess.

In diesem Interview erklärt Étienne Davignon, von 1964 bis 1966 Kabinettchef des belgischen Außenministers Paul-Henri Spaak, die Gründe für die Meinungsverschiedenheiten zwischen Frankreich und den Delegationen der fünf anderen Mitgliedstaaten der Europäischen Gemeinschaften hinsichtlich der Finanzierungsart der Gemeinsamen Agrarpolitik (GAP), die schließlich zur Krise der „Politik des leeren Stuhls“ führen.

Am 30. Juni 1965 verlässt Frankreich aufgrund von Meinungsverschiedenheiten mit seinen Partnern der Europäischen Gemeinschaften in Agrarfragen die Sitzungen der Sechs. Jede Sitzung anderer internationaler Institutionen kann jedoch einen Anlass dafür bieten, den Dialog wieder aufzunehmen und eine Lösung für die Krise der "Politik des leeren Stuhls" zu finden.

Am 14. Juli 1965 antwortet der belgische Außenminister Paul-Henri Spaak nach einem Treffen mit seinem französischen Amtskollegen Maurice Couve de Murville auf die Fragen von Journalisten zur Politik des leeren Stuhls.

On 20 July 1965, Pierre Pescatore, Secretary-General of the Luxembourg Ministry for Foreign Affairs, provides an account of his meeting the previous day in Bonn with Rolf Lahr, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), in order to consider the causes for the empty chair crisis and the possible diplomatic and political solutions to it.

On 9 September 1965, General de Gaulle holds a press conference in the Élysée Palace. He outlines the role that France plays in the process of European integration and gives the reasons behind France’s decision no longer to have taken up its seat at the Council of Ministers since 1 July 1965.

On 26 October 1965, the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) issues a statement in which the Six reaffirm their desire to pursue the process of European integration with due regard to the Treaties and the Community institutions and in which the Six invite France to take its seat in the Council once again.

From 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.

On 1 July 1965, General de Gaulle listens to French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville’s account of the events surrounding and implications of the breakdown, during the night in Brussels, of the Council negotiations on the financing of the common agricultural policy (CAP).

In his memoirs, Maurice Couve de Murville, former French Foreign Minister, discusses the origins and diplomatic implications of the empty chair crisis and of the Luxembourg Compromise, which brought an end to the crisis in January 1966.

In 1974, Sicco Mansholt, former Vice-President of the Commission of the European Communities and Commissioner with special responsibility for agriculture, recalls the causes and the development of the empty chair crisis.

In his memoirs, Pierre Werner, former Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, discusses the empty chair crisis of 1965–1966.

In diesem Interview beschreibt Paul Collowald, ehemaliges Mitglied des Pressedienstes der Kommission der Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG), die Haltung Walter Hallsteins und der Kommission unter seinem Vorsitz gegenüber der "Politik des leeren Stuhls" im Jahr 1965.

In diesem Interview beschreibt der ehemalige Generalsekretär im luxemburgischen Außenministerium Pierre Pescatore die institutionellen Gründe, die seiner Meinung nach zur Politik des leeren Stuhls führten.

In diesem Interview spricht Charles Rutten, ehemaliger stellvertretender Ständiger Vertreter der Niederlande beim Rat der Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG), über den Verlauf und die politische Bedeutung der Politik des leeren Stuhls.

In diesem Interview kommt Bino Olivi, ehemaliger Sprecher der Kommission der Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG), auf die Position Walter Hallsteins, des damaligen Präsidenten der Kommission der EWG, angesichts der Krise der so genannten „Politik des leeren Stuhls“ zu sprechen.

In this interview, Edmund Wellenstein, Secretary-General of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) between 1960 and 1967, describes how the High Authority reacted to the political crisis known as the ‘empty chair’ crisis, which took place from 1965 to 1966.

On 7 July 1965, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the implications of the empty chair policy for the operation of the European Community institutions.

‘The graveyard of Europe: “Excuse me, where is Père la Chaise vide, please?”’ On 30 June 1965, General de Gaulle provokes the empty chair crisis, notably in order to show his disagreement with the principle of majority voting, and also to avoid having to discuss institutional aspects of the Common Market. On 13 July, French cartoonist Lap uses a play on words (‘Père la Chaise’ is a famous Parisian cemetery. ‘La chaise vide’ refers to the empty chair crisis) to paint an ironic picture of the deadlock facing Europe.

‘Expected visitors. Spaak, Luns, Fanfani, G. Ball. There you go, Couve, I’ve prepared a few notes for you to refer to during your meetings. No. And no!’ On 14 July 1965, as negotiations are held to find a solution to the empty chair crisis, French cartoonist Jacques Faizant illustrates the intransigence of General de Gaulle with regard to his European and American partners. Maurice Couve de Murville, French Foreign Minister, seems to have fairly little room for manoeuvre given the instructions of President de Gaulle (on the right).

In July 1965, the French Committee for the Paneuropean Union analyses the reasons which led to the open crisis within the European Common Market and mentions the blackmailing of France.

On 17 July 1965, in the French Socialist daily newspaper Le Populaire, André Bergeron, Secretary-General of the French Force Ouvrière (Workers’ Force — FO) trade union, condemns France’s refusal to attend intergovernmental meetings of Community bodies in Brussels.

On 22 July 1965, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the differing opinions of the Six on the future direction of European integration, and outlines the implications of the empty chair crisis.

On 27 July 1965, Maurice Ulrich, Senior Adviser to the French Permanent Representation to the European Communities, sends a telegram on behalf of Jean-Marc Boegner, French Permanent Representative to the European Communities recalled to Paris, in which he indicates the positions adopted by the Foreign Ministers of the Five who met in Brussels on 26 July to consider the implications of the empty chair crisis.

On 27 July 1965, the French daily newspaper Combat expresses its concern over the consequences of France’s refusal to attend intergovernmental meetings of Community bodies in Brussels.

On 27 July 1965, the French daily newspaper Paris-Presse expresses its concern over the consequences for France of what is known as the ‘empty chair’ crisis.

On 1 October 1965, the Secretariat-General of the Interministerial Committee for European Economic Cooperation (SGCI), placed under the direct authority of the French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou, draws up a list of Community decisions to be taken rapidly, despite the French empty chair policy.

In a statement to the National Assembly on 20 October 1965, the French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville explains the reasons that led France to boycott the intergovernmental meetings of the Community bodies in Brussels.

On 9 November 1965, Émile Cazimajou, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Economic and Financial Cooperation Directorate (the economic cooperation service) of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, draws up a note in which he considers the means of changing the spirit in which the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC) exercises its prerogatives, given France’s position in particular at the beginning of the empty chair crisis.

On 10 November 1965, Nicolas Hommel, Luxembourg Ambassador to France, sends a note to Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, in which he explains the arguments put forward by France to justify its empty chair policy.

On 14 December 1965, General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, grants a radio and television interview to the journalist Michel Droit in which he explains the reasons for France’s attitude during the empty chair crisis and announces his grievances regarding the European Community.

Am 14. Juli 1965 gibt Manfred Klaiber, Botschafter der BRD in Paris, Informationen aus einer Unterredung mit dem französischen Außenminister Maurice Couve de Murville über dessen Gespräche mit Amtskollegen zur EWG-Krise wieder.

„Sei lieb Charly, komm zurück - wir bauen den Schlitten um, ja?“ Im Juli 1965 illustriert der deutsche Karikaturist Hanns Erich Köhler den Entschluss der französischen Regierung, die auf zwischenstaatlicher Ebene abgehaltenen Tagungen der Gemeinschaftsorgane in Brüssel zu boykottieren, womit die Krise des leeren Stuhls ausgelöst wird. Der französische Staatspräsident Charles de Gaulle verlässt das „EWG-Fahrzeug“, während der deutsche Kanzler Erhard verärgert zuschaut.

„Trost für Europa - Glaub mir doch! Unser Charles wird wiederkommen!“ Im Juli 1965 veranschaulicht der deutsche Karikaturist Siegl, der sich von dem Mythos des Raubs der Europa inspirieren lässt, die Reaktion von Bundeskanzler Ludwig Erhard auf die Entscheidung des französischen Staatspräsidenten General de Gaulle, den auf zwischenstaatlicher Ebene abgehaltenen Tagungen der Gemeinschaftsorgane in Brüssel fernzubleiben, womit die Krise des leeren Stuhls ausgelöst wird.

On 9 July 1965, the Belgian Liberal daily newspaper La Dernière Heure comments on the causes and possible implications of the empty chair crisis.

On 10 July 1965, Fernand Baudhuin, Professor of Economics at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), who is extremely critical as regards the objectives and operation of the European Economic Community (EEC), sees the root of the empty chair crisis in the very foundations of the Common Market.

On 12 July 1965, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir comments on the causes of the empty chair crisis and outlines its institutional and political implications.

Le 13 juillet 1965, commentant les enjeux institutionnels de la crise de la chaise vide, Pierre Joye plaide dans les colonnes du quotidien communiste belge Le drapeau rouge pour la construction d'une Europe au service du monde ouvrier.

On 13 September 1965, in the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique, Paul Struye, the Belgian Catholic Senator and former Member of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), analyses the impact of the press conference held on 9 September 1965 by General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, which addressed, in particular, the issue of the empty chair crisis.

In September 1965, commenting on France’s decision not to take up its seat at the Council of Ministers of the European Communities, Jean-Charles Snoy et d’Oppuers, President of the Royal Institute for International Relations (IRRI) and former President of the Belgian Delegation to the Val Duchesse Intergovernmental Conference on European revival, speculates on the real chances of pursuing the European Community without France.

On 27 September 1965, invited by the Brussels Conférence du Jeune Barreau (Young Bar Association) to talk to Maurice Schumann, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly, about the future of Europe, Belgian Foreign Minister Paul-Henri Spaak outlines arrangements which may resolve what is known as the ‘empty chair’ crisis and considers in particular the issue of the revision of the Treaty of Rome.

On 12 January 1966, Henri Étienne, Head of Division of the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC), hands to Karl-Heinz Narjes, Head of Cabinet to the President of the Commission Walter Hallstein, a summary note from Jean Maurin, Member of the Executive Secretariat of the Commission, which recalls the details of the development of the political position of Belgium and that of the Belgian Foreign Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak, since the beginning of the empty chair crisis on 30 June 1965.

On 20 January 1966, in Strasbourg, participating in an exchange of views between the Community institutions on the empty chair crisis, Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Foreign Minister, outlines Belgium’s position in this affair and takes into account the efforts made on 17 and 18 January in Luxembourg by the Foreign Ministers of the Six to resolve the crisis.

On 1 July 1965, following the breakdown in Community negotiations on the financing of the common agricultural policy (CAP), the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera comments on France’s decision to boycott intergovernmental meetings of Community bodies in Brussels.

On 6 July 1965, Pierre Pescatore, Secretary-General of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sends a note to the Luxembourg diplomatic missions in Europe in which he sets out the position adopted by Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, in relation to the empty chair crisis and the political means by which it may be overcome.

On 2 August 1965, Nicolas Hommel, the Luxembourg Ambassador to Paris, sends a confidential note to Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, in which he gives his account of the reasons which led France, under General de Gaulle, to boycott Community activities in Brussels.

On 15 September 1965, Pierre Pescatore, Secretary-General of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sends a confidential note to the Luxembourg diplomatic missions in Europe and to some international organisations in which he sets out the reactions of Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, following the press conference held by General de Gaulle in which he adopted a very critical stance towards the European Communities.

On 29 September 1965, Pierre Pescatore, Secretary-General of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sends a confidential note to the Luxembourg diplomatic missions in Europe and to some international organisations in which he sets out Luxembourg’s position in the ongoing diplomatic negotiations being held to resolve the empty chair crisis, especially given the joint position of Belgium and the Netherlands and the scope of the ‘Spaak Plan’.

On 30 September 1965, Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, gives an address to the Belgian Chamber of Commerce in New York in which he expresses, in particular, his faith in Luxembourg's future in Europe and outlines the principles which form the basis of a solution to the empty chair crisis.

On 14 October 1965, Pierre Pescatore, Secretary-General of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sends a note to Georges Wagner, Luxembourg MP and President-in-Office of the Benelux Interparliamentary Consultative Council (CICB), in which he informs him of the efforts being made by Luxembourg, together with Belgium and the Netherlands, to find a positive solution to the empty chair crisis.

On 5 November 1966, Pierre Pescatore, Secretary-General of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sends a note to the Luxembourg diplomatic missions in Europe and to some international organisations in which he gives an account of the discussions held on 27 October in Luxembourg between the Secretaries-General of the Foreign Ministries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on the political implications of the empty chair crisis.

On 12 November 1965, Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, informs the Belgian Foreign Minister, Paul-Henri Spaak, of the guiding principles of the Luxembourg Government regarding some of the issues raised by the empty chair crisis.

On 6 January 1966, Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, gives an address to the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies in which he outlines, in particular, the causes of the empty chair crisis and sets out the position adopted by his country in order to overcome the political and institutional tensions which have divided France and its European Community partners since 30 June 1965.

On 20 January 1966, in Strasbourg, taking part in an exchange of views between the Community institutions on the empty chair crisis, Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of Ministers of the European Communities, outlines the nature of the activities of the Council and the Communities since 30 June 1965, with particular regard to tariffs and agriculture. He then gives an account of the efforts made in Luxembourg on 17 and 18 January, by the Foreign Ministers of the Six, to resolve the crisis.

On 19 July 1965, the European Movement International publishes a statement in which it expresses its alarm at the deadlock in the European Economic Community and calls on the Council and the Heads of State or Government to work to find a solution to the crisis as quickly as possible.

In its July–August 1965 edition, the Dutch magazine Nieuw Europa focuses on the direct and indirect causes of the empty chair crisis and outlines the implications of the financial and agricultural proposals put forward by the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC).

En septembre 1965, Henri Brugmans, recteur du Collège d'Europe à Bruges et membre fondateur de l'Union européenne des fédéralistes (UEF), examine les causes profondes et les conséquences politiques de la crise de la chaise vide dans les colonnes du mensuel Nieuw Europa que publie la section néerlandaise du Mouvement européen.

En septembre 1965, le mensuel Nieuw Europa, publié par la section néerlandaise du Mouvement européen, reproduit l'analyse du baron Jean-Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers, président à Bruxelles de l'Institut royal des relations internationales (IRRI) et ancien président de la délégation belge à la conférence intergouvernementale de Val Duchesse pour la relance européenne, qui s'interroge sur les possibilités réelles de poursuivre l'Europe communautaire sans la France.

In an address to the Second Chamber of the States General in The Hague on 14 October 1965, the Netherlands Prime Minister, Joseph Cals, calls for a rapid settlement to the empty chair crisis.

On 20 January 1966, in Strasbourg, taking part in an exchange of views between the Community institutions on the empty chair crisis, Joseph Luns, the Netherlands Foreign Minister, outlines the Netherlands’ stance on the issue and gives an account of the efforts made in Luxembourg on 17 and 18 January, by the Foreign Ministers of the Six, to resolve the crisis.

In an address to the House of Commons on 19 July 1965, the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, expresses his hope that a rapid solution will be found to the internal crisis affecting the European Community and reaffirms the importance of political unity in Europe.

On 24 October 1965, the British daily newspaper The Observer outlines the efforts made by the five European partners to persuade France to take up its seat in the Council of Ministers once more, thereby putting an end to the empty chair crisis.

In diesem Interview beschreibt Georges Berthoin, Delegationsleiter der Hohen Behörde der Europäischen Gemeinschaft für Kohle und Stahl (EGKS) und später der Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften im Vereinigten Königreich bis 1973, die Haltung der britischen Behörden gegenüber der Politik des leeren Stuhls und dem Luxemburger Kompromiss in den Jahren 1965/1966.

On 3 July 1965, the Soviet daily newspaper Pravda reports on what is referred to as the ‘empty chair’ crisis which is paralysing the work of the Community institutions in Brussels.

On 13 July 1965, the Soviet daily newspaper Izvestia reports on the decision taken by France not to attend any more intergovernmental meetings of Community bodies in Brussels until its demands relating to the common agricultural policy (CAP) have been met.