Basic HTML Version
October
1971
no means everything. What is infinitely
more important is that the countries
should be governed efficiently and that
their populations should work hard."
This the Britisb have not been doing.
"What matters infinitely more than
the size of the market," says Dr. Einzig,
"is the
character of the people."
Will T here Always Be An
England?
Another giant obstade is the whole
murky question of sovereignty. How
much independent action will the Brit–
ish have to relinquish now and in the
future as the Community draws closer
together politically? Will Parliament
become little more than a provincial
legislature? What about the Royal Fam–
ily? Will there "always be an England"
as we know it?
Asked what sovereign powers Britain
would ultimately be forced to relinquish,
one British journalist answered bluntly
in a BBC debate: "Social affairs, tax af·
fairs, fiscal affairs, industrial affairs, mo–
nopoly policy - in fact, most of the
things that affect the livelihood and the
standard of living of ordinary people."
Many Continentals are doubtful Brit–
ain would ever make firm commitments
toward the stated political objectives of
the Treaty of Rome. They fear london
would never permit the Market to drift
toward federalism, with a strong super–
national governing body.
Brítons and Continentals alike are
very familiar with the famous quote
of the Common Market Commission's
first President, Professor Hallstein:
"We are not in business to promote tar–
iff preferences. We are not in business
at all, we are in politics."
Asked recently in London whether he
felt the progress toward integration had
gone fast enough, Professor Hallstein
told PLAIN TRUTH correspondents:
"Never fast enougb in my opinion.
l'm a militant European and 1 would
like to see it done completely.... Tbat
meaos not what one calJs economic inte–
gratioo only, but political integration."
Even though Dr. Hallstein believes
the nations in
the
Community
will
never lose their national identity, nor
all their sovereignty, the growing "Eu–
rocracy" in Brussels, manufacturing new
The
PLAIN TRUTH
rules and regulations by the week, is
enough to produce grave suspicions in
the minds of many independence-loving
Britishers.
Security and the U. S.
Relationship
The British Government's "White
Papee" on the Comrnon Market (see
accompanying box), states that: "The
prime objective of our British Govern–
ment must be to safeguard the security
and prosperity of the United Kingdom
and its peoples."
This prime objective, the official
document affirms, "would be best served
7
by British accession to the European
Communities."
Anti-Market forces violently disagree.
They believe it would be extremely
risky for Britain to rely for its national
defense upon "undependable Western
European countries" as one critic puts
it.
Compounding the situation would
be
the severiog of the "special relation–
ship" wíth the United States. This
unique bond across the Atlantic helped
rescue Britain in two world wars
-
wars started in Europe among
Europeans.
"One of the most deplorable effects
How the
British Government Views
Common Marl<et Entry
Quotations
from
the British
Government's Wh ite Paper
on
the
Common
Market
e
The prime objective of any Bri–
tish Government must
be
to safeguard
the security and prosperity of tbe
United Kingdom and its peoples.
e
The choice for Britain is clear.
Either we choose to enter thc Com–
munity and join in building a strong
Europe on the foundations which the
Six have laid; or we choose to stand
aside from this great enterprise and
seek to maintain our interests from
the narrow - and narrowing -
base we have known in recent
years.
e
There is no alternative grouping
of countries with similar circumstances
and interests which could offer us the
same opportunities to safeguard our
national security and prosperity.
e
Nor does the Commonwealth by
itself offer us, or indeed wish to offer
us, alternativc and comparable op·
portunities to membership of the
European Community.
e
In the light of the experience of
the Six themselves, and their convic–
tion that the creation of the Com–
munity materially contributed to their
growth, and of tbe essential sim–
ilarity of our economjes, the Govem·
ment is confident that membership
of tbe enlarged Community wiU lead
to rnuch improved efficiency and pro-
ductivity in British industry, with a
higher rate of investment and a fas–
ter growth of real wages.
e
The costs of joining the Com–
munity - set out in this White Papee
-are the price we should have to pay
for the economic and political advan–
tages. These advantages will more
than outweigh the costs, provided we
seize the opportunities of the far
wider home market now open to us.
e
A decision not to join, when at
Jast we have the power to do so,
would be a rejection of an historie
opportunity and a reversa} of the
whole direction of British policy
under successive Governments during
the last decade.
e
In a single generatioo we should
have renounced an imperial past and
rejected a European future.
e
Her Majesty's Government be–
lieves that the terms which have been
negotiated are fair and reasonable,
and províde this country with an op–
portunity which may never recur.
e
Every historie choice involves
challcnge as well as opportunity. Hcr
Majesty's Government is convinced
that
the right decision for us is to
accept the challenge, seize the oppor–
tunity and join the European
Communities.