United Kingdom accession to the European Communities as seen by cartoonists
THE END OF A GREAT POWER
Relations with former colonies
Cartoon by Behrendt on the British colonial empire (14 March 1956)
Image‘There go my footholds...' In March 1956, the cartoonist Behrendt gives his view of the decline of the former British colonial empire.
THE FIRST APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
The 1961 announcement
Cartoon by Lang on the United Kingdom's application for membership to the EEC (2 August 1961)
Image'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'.
Cartoon by Siegl on British membership of the EEC (12 August 1961)
Image‘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.
The difficult negotiations
Cartoon by Heko on the negotiations regarding British accession to the EEC (4 October 1961)
Image‘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).
The first veto of General de Gaulle
Cartoon by Eccles, published in the Daily Worker (28 January 1963)
ImageOn 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.
Cartoon on General de Gaulle's veto regarding the British membership application to the EEC (16 February 1963)
ImageIn 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.
Cartoon by Esenti, published in the Démocratie 63 (31 January 1963)
Image‘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
The 1967 announcement
Cartoon by Cummings on De Gaulle and the United Kingdom's accession to the EEC (24 February 1965)
ImageOn 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.
Cartoon by Köhler on General de Gaulle and the British application for accession to the EC (26 January 1967)
ImageOn 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.
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.
The second veto of General de Gaulle
The second veto of General de Gaulle
Cartoon by Behrendt on the French opposition to British accession to the EC (1968)
Image‘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.