Funnily enough, although I can hardly recall what I was up to last week, I am beginning to remember very clearly what I was doing in January 1973. I was coming as a student from @stjohnscam to @IEE_Bruxelles 1/
Joining the European Community felt like sending reinforcements to aid the European cause. The British were adding their weight to the peaceful effort to unify the mainland, rather like our fathers had done in wartime. 2/
Europe wanted the UK to offer much with its parliamentary government and civil liberties. Beyond the arguments over farms, fish and oil, the British contribution to Western security in the Cold War was expected to be of significant lasting benefit to Europe as a whole. 3/
After years of quarrelling about accession, the UK was welcomed at last as a member. The Six founding states needed help to entrench their union at home and abroad. Now they had got it.
We were not wrong, I think, to hope so. END/
@federalists @SpinelliGroup @Europarl_EN
We were not wrong, I think, to hope so. END/
@federalists @SpinelliGroup @Europarl_EN
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