Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister (1979-1990).

From 10 to 11 May 1979, Margaret Thatcher, the newly elected British Prime Minister, receives Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt on an official visit to London.

In his memoirs, Roy Jenkins, President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981, recalls Margaret Thatcher’s refusal to accept the proposal made by her European partners concerning Britain’s contribution to the Community budget at the Luxembourg European Council, held on 27 and 28 April 1980.

On 30 November 1979, commenting on the progress of the work carried out at the Dublin European Council, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir describes the position taken by the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, regarding her country's contribution to the Community budget.

On 29 November 1979, in an article published in the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir, Gaston Thorn, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, considers the agenda of the Dublin European Council and the heated debates among the Nine over the United Kingdom's contribution to the Community budget.

In February 1980, the federalist magazine L'Europe en formation analyses the problem of the British contribution to the Community budget which threatens to drag the Community down into a serious crisis.

‘The Iron Lady: “No compromises!”’ In 1980, German cartoonist Walter Hanel illustrates the difficulties encountered by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of the French Republic, and German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in reaching a political agreement with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to settle the issue of the United Kingdom’s contribution to the Community budget.

'A little something for Europe.' In 1980, the cartoonist Behrendt portrays the exasperation felt by the British concerning their financial contribution to the Community budget.

On 15 March 1980, three months after the Dublin European Council, the French weekly magazine L'Express considers the position of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, regarding the method of determining the Member States' financial contributions to the Community budget.

At the Luxembourg European Council on 27 and 28 April 1980, the Nine find it hard to reach an initial agreement on the question of the British contribution to the Community budget. The photo shows British Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington (on the right) speaking to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (centre) at the European Council meeting. Margaret Thatcher, dubbed the ‘Iron Lady’, is demanding a reduction in the United Kingdom’s contribution to the Community budget.

‘Maggie was here…' During the European Council, held in Luxembourg on 27 and 28 April 1980, the Nine reach an initial agreement on the British rebate with great difficulty.

In 1980, as the question of the United Kingdom’s financial contribution to the Community budget — which the country deems to be much too large — comes to the fore, demonstrators protest against any suggestion of derogation, concession or restructuring of Community policies.

On 2 June 1980, the cabinet meets in London to discuss the latest progress in the negotiations in Brussels on the United Kingdom’s financial contribution to the Community budget. From left to right: Sir Ian Gilmore, Lord Privy Seal, James Prior, Secretary of State for Employment, and Lord Carrington, British Foreign Secretary.

On 27 March 1982, the French weekly newspaper Le Nouvel Observateur criticises the European policy pursued by the United Kingdom since it joined the European Communities in 1973, whilst indicating some ambiguities in the actions of its European partners.

On 15 May 1982, the French Catholic daily newspaper La Croix criticises the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s position on the British contribution to the Community budget and indicates her isolation on the European scene.

‘I fear, gentlemen, that in future you will have to cook the EC-cake without me!’ In August 1982, 25 years after the establishment of the European Economic Community, cartoonist Hans Geisen offers a portrayal of the Europe of the Ten that is far from idyllic, emphasising the intransigent attitude of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with regard to the British contribution to the Community budget.

On 21 June 1983, following the Stuttgart European Council held from 17 to19 June, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the agreement reached between the United Kingdom and its European partners on the British budgetary rebate.

‘Rule Britannia in splendid isolation.’ On 30 March 1984, following the failure of the Brussels European Council of 19 and 20 March, Fritz Behrendt, a Dutch cartoonist originally from Berlin, paints an ironic picture of the intransigence of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on the question of the British contribution to the European Community budget. Several allegorical and patriotic British symbols are used to emphasise the firm stance of the ‘Iron Lady’. Margaret Thatcher is depicted as ‘Britannia’, the female personification of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, wearing a helmet and armed with a three-pronged fork and a shield, accompanied by a roaring lion and by the defiant figure of John Bull, another allegorical representation of the UK. The phrase on the banner, which refers to a patriotic British song, illustrates Margaret Thatcher’s determination to keep the United Kingdom separate from European affairs.

On 23 March 1984, in an interview granted to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), sets out the priorities for Germany’s European policy after the failure of the European Summit held in Brussels on 19 and 20 March 1984. He also considers the thorny question of the British contribution to the Community budget.

On 25 June 1984, commenting on the opening of the Fontainebleau European Council held on 25 and 26 June, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro outlines the efforts made by the French Presidency of the European Communities to find a solution to the problem of Britain's contribution to the Community budget.

On 27 June 1984, in connection with the Fontainebleau European Council, the French daily newspaper Libération describes the difficult negotiations between the Ten with regard to the question of the United Kingdom's contribution to the Community budget.

In June 1984, the French cartoonist, Plantu, takes an ironic look at the different assessments of the outcome of the Fontainebleau European Council held on 25 and 26 June 1984. Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, welcomes the agreement on the United Kingdom's financial contribution to the budget of the European Communities, while François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic and President-in-Office of the Community, is pleased with the first European passport.

‘My money! My money!’ ‘You’re not so bad after all!!’ Illustrating the failure of the Copenhagen European Council held on 4 and 5 December 1987, the French cartoonist, Plantu, emphasises the disagreement between Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, and her European counterparts with regard to budgetary issues (on the right, French President François Mitterrand and his Prime Minister, Jacques Chirac).

On 30 April 1988, using the myth of the Trojan Horse (here given the features of Edward Heath, former British Prime Minister) to illustrate the position of the United Kingdom towards the European Communities, the British cartoonist, Michael Cummings, takes an ironic look at the new climate resulting from the European policy pursued by the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Le 27 juillet 1988, Margaret Thatcher, Premier ministre britannique, livre aux journalistes de la British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) sa conception de l'intégration européenne.

In this interview, Leo Tindemans, former Belgian Prime Minister and Minister for External Relations, considers at length the attitude of Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister, towards the British contribution to the Community budget.

On 20 September 1988, at the beginning of the 39th academic year of the College of Europe in Bruges, the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, delivers a speech on the future of Europe and condemns the bureaucratic and centralist tendencies of the Community tendencies of the Community system.

On 29 July 1988, illustrating the tensions between the United Kingdom and the European Communities, the British cartoonist, Michael Cummings, takes an ironic look at the difficult relations between Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, and Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission.

In its summer 1988 editorial, the federalist magazine L’Europe en formation criticises the European policy being pursued by the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and calls on the founding countries not to relax their efforts to create a united Europe, with particular regard to political and monetary union.

In his editorial of 21 September 1988, Emanuele Gazzo, Director of Agence Europe, explains why, in his opinion, the speech given in Bruges by Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, adds nothing new as regards the objectives of the European policy pursued by Britain’s Conservative Government.

On 21 September 1988, the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir examines closely the content of the speech given the day before at the College of Europe, Bruges, by the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

On 21 September 1988, the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique comments on the address given the previous day by Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, at the College of Europe in Bruges, in which she criticised the bureaucratic and centralising tendencies of the Community system.

On 22 September 1988, two days after the address given in Bruges by Margaret Thatcher, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the British Prime Minister’s positions on European integration.

On 22 September 1988, discussing Margaret Thatcher’s notorious speech in Bruges, the Spanish daily newspaper El País outlines the British Prime Minister’s vision of Europe.

On 28 September 1988, Wilfried Martens, Belgian Prime Minister, responds during a press conference to the speech on the future of Europe given in Bruges one week earlier by Margaret Thatcher.

On 30 December 1988, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit analyses the vision of Europe expressed by the British Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, ten days previously during her address to the College of Bruges.

On 31 October 1988, the British left-wing daily newspaper The Guardian considers the political impact of the critical stance taken by Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, on the Delors Commission and European issues.

Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister (1979-1990).

On 28 April 1989, Neil Kinnock, Leader of the Labour Party, criticises the European policy of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, who does not hesitate to attack Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission.

In 1989, the German cartoonist, Walter Hanel, portrays the hesitations of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, with respect to Community Europe.