On 4 October 1956, Franz Etzel, Vice-President of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), sends a confidential note to German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in which he sets out his personal views on the British proposal to create a large free trade area in Europe.

On 7 November 1956, the British Chambers of Commerce states that it is favourable in principle to the establishment of a free trade area in Europe but lays down certain conditions that need to be met if it is to offer its full support.

On 15 January 1957, reaffirming its commitment to maintaining Atlantic solidarity and multilateral trade, the US Department of State expresses US support for the intergovernmental negotiations under way for the establishment of a common market between the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and welcomes the initiative of the United Kingdom which seeks to set up a European free trade area.

In February 1957, the British Government forwards a memorandum to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) in Paris in which it sets out its views on the establishment of a European Free Trade Area.

On 6 February 1956, the Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry calls for the Common Market to be established after the creation of a Free Trade Area as an interim step.

On 9 February 1957, Raymond Bousquet, French Ambassador to Belgium, forwards to Christian Pineau, French Foreign Minister, a telegram in which he informs him of the draft reply of the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) to the British memorandum on the establishment of a free trade area in Europe.

On 12 February 1957, against the backdrop of the negotiations on the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe, British cartoonist David Low considers the role of British agriculture in this new free-trade area.

In April 1957, the Federation of British Industries (FBI) publishes its position on the proposed European Free Trade Area, whilst attempting to assess the implications thereof for the British economy.

On 16 May 1957, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) adopts a statement on the implications of the establishment of a free trade area in Europe.

‘Still left driving?’ In 1957, the German cartoonist, Fritz Behrendt, depicts the United Kingdoms’s mistrust of and isolationist policy towards the six future Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC).

In May 1957, the British Government publishes an information booklet on the advantages of the establishment of a large free trade area in Europe.

On 7 June 1957, at a reception held by the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris, David Eccles, President of the Board of Trade, delivers an address on the importance of the establishment of a free trade area in Europe.

On 8 July 1957, the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) drafts an internal note setting out its provisional stance on the continuing negotiations concerning the position of the Six on the free trade area. The note emphasises the political aim of the European Economic Community (EEC) and stresses that this cannot be achieved within the framework of a free trade area.

On 9 July 1957, at a meeting of the British Section of the European Movement in London, the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, makes a statement in which he emphasises the importance of the establishment of a free trade area in Europe.

On 11 July 1957, the day after the meeting of the British section of the European Movement in London, Jean Chauvel, French Ambassador to London, sends a telegram to Christian Pineau, French Foreign Minister, in which he outlines the views expressed by some British politicians on the issues related to the Common Market and the free trade area.

‘Qualified courtship.’ On 12 July 1957, the British cartoonist David Low depicts the attempt by the United Kingdom (represented by Prime Minister Harold Macmillan) to secure a rapprochement with the European Economic Community (EEC), but on his terms.

On 19 July 1957, Peter Thorneycroft, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, presents to the Council of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) a report in which he lists the various obstacles to the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.

On 23 July 1957, Pierre Uri, Director of the General Economy Division of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), outlines to the Interim Committee for the Common Market and Euratom the threat that the British proposal for a European Free Trade Area would pose to the European Economic Community (EEC) even before its actual implementation.

On 30 July 1957, Pierre Uri, Director of the General Economy Division of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), draws up a note in which he outlines the conditions which a common market must meet in order to promote the economic development of the participating countries, given their particular sizes.

In September 1957, the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of British Industries and the National Union of Manufacturers publish a Joint Report in which they set out their views on the establishment of a European Free Trade Area.

In October 1957, in response to the imminent implementation of the Rome Treaties, Peter Thornycroft, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, sets out the position of the British Government on the revival of European integration and warns against a division of Europe into several economic areas.

On 16 September 1957, following a meeting of the Interim Committee for the Common Market and Euratom, Robert Marjolin, technical adviser in the Private Office of the French Foreign Ministry, analyses the discussions between the six Member States of the European Economic Community with a view to establishing a common position on the free-trade area.

On 17 September 1957, the National Council of French Employers (CNPF) adopts a resolution in which it sets out the reasons for its opposition to the British proposal for a free trade area in Europe.

On 20 September 1957, Pierre Uri, Director of the General Economy Division of the High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), draws up a note in which he outlines the difficulties for the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) arising from the British proposal for a Free Trade Area.

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 13 November 1957, the Federation of British Industries adopts a resolution in which it expresses its views on the proposal to establish a European Free Trade Area.

On 21 December 1957, the Roubaix Chamber of Commerce expresses its objections to the British proposal for a free trade area in Europe.

On 28 March 1958, British MPs hold an exchange of views on the establishment of a free trade area in Europe and consider future relations between the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 15 July 1958, the British cartoonist, David Low, illustrates the opposition of General de Gaulle, President of the French Republic, to the negotiations for the establishment of a large free-trade area in Europe.

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.

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 15 November 1958, the French President, Charles de Gaulle, explains to the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, why he considers the existence of the Common Market and the obligations that it entails for its Member States to be incompatible with plans for a single industrial free-trade area in Europe.

‘Rough on fence-sitters.’ On 20 November 1958, the British cartoonist David Low portrays the frustration of Reginald Maudling, Her Majesty’s Paymaster-General and Chairman of the Intergovernmental Ministerial Procedural Committee of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) responsible for determining the conditions for the establishment of a free trade area in Europe, regarding France’s opposition to the idea (represented by Jacques Soustelle, left, French Minister for Information).

On 23 January 1957, the German economic daily newspaper Handelsblatt outlines the features of the customs union which the six Member States of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) intend to establish between their countries as part of the European Economic Community (EEC) and speculates about the benefits of the British plan for a free-trade area in Europe.

On 20 March 1957, the Luxembourg Socialist newspaper Tageblatt highlights the main differences between the future European Economic Community (EEC) and the free-trade area that the British Government hopes to establish in Europe.

On 22 June 1957, the bimonthly Italian publication Relazioni Internazionali gives an account of the visit to Italy of David Eccles, President of the Board of Trade, and outlines the disadvantages of the British proposal for a European free trade area.

In November 1957, the British financial journal Westminster Bank Review publishes an article by Richard Bailey, Director of the ‘Political and Economic Planning’ research organisation, on the implications of the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe.

On 26 December 1957, the French monthly economics publication L’Usine Nouvelle gives an account of the opposition of some sectors of the French industrial world to the proposed free trade area under the aegis of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

In December 1957, the French monthly newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique publishes an extract from the address delivered by Jean Monnet, President of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), at the Congress of the Cotton Industry in Harrogate in which he considers, in particular, the fundamental differences between the Common Market and the British proposal for a free trade area.

On 9 January 1958, the French monthly economics publication L’Usine Nouvelle sets out its arguments against the British proposal for the establishment of a European free trade area.

On 8 March 1958, the British financial newspaper The Statist comments on the difficult negotiations between the United Kingdom and France on the establishment of a free-trade area in Europe which would include the European Economic Community (EEC).

On 17 April 1958, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit sets out the position of the United Kingdom on the Commonwealth and on the European Economic Community (EEC), while criticising the British proposal for a free trade area in Europe.

On 1 May 1958, in response to an article published on 18 April in the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit, J. M. Fisher, Adviser at the British Embassy in Bonn, rejects the accusations made against the United Kingdom that it would act as a bridgehead for American competition in Europe and outlines the nature of the British proposal for a free trade area in Europe.

On 14 May 1958, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel comments on the dangers threatening Western Europe, split into two blocs following the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the British proposal for a free trade area as part of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC).

On 1 November 1958, the daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian analyses the reasons for the failure of the negotiations seeking to establish a free trade area in Europe.

On 5 November 1958, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel comments on the failure of the Intergovernmental Conference on the European Free Trade Area established as part of the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC) which was chaired by Paymaster General Reginald Maudling.

On 15 November 1958, L’Écho de l’Industrie, the official publication of the Federation of Luxembourg Industrialists (Fedil), comments on the difficult negotiations between the six Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United Kingdom on the possible establishment of a free trade area in Europe.

On 17 November 1958, the daily newspaper The Manchester Guardian leads with the postponement of the negotiations for the establishment of a single free-trade area in Europe.