Am 19. Juli 1957 unterbreitet der britische Schatzkanzler Peter Thorneycroft dem Rat der Organisation für europäische wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit (OEEC) einen Bericht, in dem er die Hindernisse für die Einrichtung einer Freihandelszone in Europa darlegt.

On 12 October 1956, the Dutch magazine Economische Voorlichting publishes an article on the British plan for a European free-trade area.

On 11 July 1957, Working Party No 21 of the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) presents its report on the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.

On 16 October 1957, Christian Calmes, Secretary-General of the Interim Committee for the Common Market and Euratom, writes a letter to René Sergent, Secretary-General of the OEEC, in which he sets out the position of the Six on the negotiations under way for the implementation of a free trade area in Europe.

On 11 April 1958, the Netherlands delegate, Marinus van der Goes van Naters, presents to his colleagues in the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe the main points of his report on the harmonisation of the planned free-trade area developed by the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) together with the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 17 May 1958, the Netherlands daily newspaper Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant comments on the words of Reginald Maudling, Paymaster General of the United Kingdom, regarding the plan to create a large free trade area.

On 24 July 1958, the daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian reports on the difficult negotiations for the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.

On 10 October 1958, delegate John Hay presents to his colleagues in the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe his report on the debates relating to the establishment, in Europe, of a free-trade area and on the complementarity of such an area with the European Common Market.

On 17 October 1958, the Council of Ministers of the EEC forwards to the Intergovernmental Committee for the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe a memorandum which analyses the provisions relating to the establishment thereof.

On 7 November 1958, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, asks the French President, Charles de Gaulle, to reconsider once again France’s position regarding the creation of a single industrial free-trade area in Europe.

On 1 April 1958, in connection with the debates on the establishment of a single free trade area in Europe, British cartoonist David Low illustrates the dilemma facing the United Kingdom: to remain loyal to the Commonwealth or to establish closer relations with continental Europe. The leading figures from each camp try to promote their ideas: Reginald Maudling, HM Paymaster General, and David Eccles, President of the Board of Trade, are in favour of a rapprochement with continental Europe, while Robert Menzies, Australian Prime Minister, John George Diefenbaker, Canadian Prime Minister, and Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister, emphasise the deep links between Britain and the Commonwealth.

In October 1958, the Action Committee for a United States of Europe drafts a note on future relations between the European Economic Community (EEC) and third countries, in particular the United Kingdom, with a view to the establishment of a free-trade area.

Am 15. November 1958 erläutert der französische Präsident de Gaulle dem britischen Premierminister Harold Macmillan, warum seiner Ansicht nach die Existenz des Gemeinsamen Marktes und die Verpflichtungen, die sich daraus für seine Mitgliedstaaten ergeben, unvereinbar mit dem Vorhaben einer großen Freihandelszone in Europa sind.

On 26 November 1958, British cartoonist Norman Mansbridge illustrates France’s role in the failure of the British plan for a free trade area in Western Europe.

On 29 November 1958, L’Écho de l’Industrie, the official publication of the Federation of Luxembourg Industrialists (Fedil), speculates on the future of the British proposal for a free trade area in Western Europe.

On 14 December 1958, the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) publishes a detailed report on progress in the negotiations for the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.

Am 17. Dezember 1958 richtet der französische Außenminister Maurcie Couve de Murvill ein Rundschreiben an die französischen dipomatischen Posten, in dem er über die Erörterungen des Ministerrates der OEEC über den Maudling-Bericht über das vorläufige Handelssystem berichtet, das die Sechs gegenüber Drittstaaten einzurichten gedenken.