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United Kingdom accession to the European Communities as seen by cartoonists
'I'll be very gentle…' In August 1961, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan declares himself to be in favour of setting Britain on the road to accession to the European Economic Community (EEC). However, the journey will not be pain free for the old 'British lion'.
‘The British lion – Stop dithering: go on, jump!’ On 12 August 1961, the front page of the German satirical magazine Simplicissimus responds to the announcement of the United Kingdom’s application to join the European Economic Community.
‘EEC — British bulky parcels: “Perhaps you’d be kind enough to make your service hatch bigger, gentlemen!” (British reservations).’ In October 1961, the cartoonist Heko predicts lengthy and arduous accession negotiations between the United Kingdom and the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC).
On 28 January 1963, the French response to the United Kingdom’s application for accession to the European Communities leaves no doubt as to General de Gaulle’s stance on the matter.
In January 1963, Harold Macmillan, British Prime Minister, collides with the French ‘iceberg’ de Gaulle, who refuses to approve the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Communities.
‘The European fable (continued): the new minder’. This cartoon criticises the United Kingdom’s propensity to seek solace in the arms of the US President, John F. Kennedy, after General de Gaulle rejects its application for accession to the European Economic Community (EEC).
THE SECOND APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
On 24 February 1965, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro depicts General de Gaulle as the leader of Europe, showing scant enthusiasm towards the British delegation who have come to negotiate the conditions for the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities.
On 26 January 1967, the cartoonist from the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung criticises the accession conditions imposed by General de Gaulle on British participation in the European common market.
‘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.
‘Harold Wilson’s nightmare.’ In 1968, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt describes British Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s nightmare when, like his counterpart Harold Macmillan in 1963, he comes up against General de Gaulle’s veto on British accession to the European Communities.
