Thatcher’s European Policy I: The Demandeur

Abstract

Europe was, indeed, the realm of necessity for British foreign policy. As Thatcher herself made clear in her famous address to the College of Europe at Bruges in 1988, Britain’s ties with Europe were ‘… the dominant factor in our history’, and Britain’s destiny lay ‘… in Europe as a part of the Community’. Returning again to the theme of ‘Britain’s destiny’ during a speech she made in Aspen, Colorado three months before her resignation in 1990, she declared that it lay ‘… in Europe as a full member of the Community’. Britain would not be ‘standing on the sidelines or … watching from the bleachers.’¹ There is no doubt she meant what she said on both occasions, but what still remains very much in doubt is what she, or anyone else for that matter, meant by ‘Europe’ and the European Community.