90s - Foreign Affairs Flashcards
Post-Single European Act, what was Thatchers stance toward Europe?
She became more negative about this, and wanted a single market which reflected her economic policies. She did not fully understand how the SEA would change Britain’s relationship with Europe, and it ended up limiting the influence of individual member states.
What did Thatcher include in her 1988 Bruges speech?
She set out her vision of the future of Europe. She wanted to emphasis that the EEC was a trade association between sovereign states, and was resolutely opposed to federalism. This was contradictory to where Delors, the EC President thought it was going.
What was the impact of the 1988 Bruges Speech?
It was intended to be positive but infuriated other European leaders and raised doubts about Britain’s commitment to further integration.
It also enthused the Eurosceptics so the Bruges Group was formed to oppose federalism.
How did Thatcher’s relatively negative line on Europe cause tension in her government?
Howe and Major thought she was backtracking from positions she had agreed to since 1985, but Eurosceptics argued it was federalists in Brussels who were changing the EEC into something apart from the 1973 Common Market.
Why was Thatcher in favour of expanding the EEC?
Post-collapse of USSR she was in favour of including the Eastern European states, to extend free trade and finally quash communism. However, it would also weaken the power of Brussels, so she favoured a wider and shallower union.
How was the Conservative government Major inherited divided over Europe?
There were many supporters such as Clarke and Patten, but the Eurosceptics were significantly more important, such as Portillo, Redwood and IDS.
What was the 1992 Maastricht treaty?
Designed to set up new structures to deal with the expansion of the EEC. The EEC became the EU and a single currency would be adopted in 1999. It also aimed to regulate working conditions and employment rights all over Europe.
How did Major manage to get Parliament to approve the Maastricht Treaty?
He attached it to a Vote of No Confidence, which if he had lost would have led to the dissolution of Parliament and a Gen Elec which Cons were unlikely to win. It damaged his authority and made him appear weak.
What was the Anti-Federalist League?
A political party set up in 1993 to oppose federalism and promote nationalism, this turned into UKIP later.
As the Cold War was ending, what broke out in the Middle East?
Hussein, Iraqi President, sent forces to conquer the oil-rich Kuwait in 1990.
What was the reaction to Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait?
In 1991, an American-led coalition was backed by a UN resolution and successfully expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait in a short military campaign.
What was the crisis in Yugoslavia?
Yugoslavia’s disintegration stemmed for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. From 1989 the Yugoslav president, Milosevic was transforming into an extreme Serbian nationalist and threatening violence against Albanian minorities in Kosovo.
What caused the violent Serbian-Croation clashes of 1991?
Slovenia declaring republic and therefore the dissolution of the Yugoslav state.
What was British Foreign Secretary’s initial reaction to the Balkan conflicts?
He was confident that Britain could make a significant contribution to international mediation but European diplomats failed because it was not clear whether the aim was reforming Yugoslavia or allowing a complete dissolution into separate states.
What was the war that broke out in Bosnia in April 1992?
The Muslim population of eastern Bosnia was driven out by violent ‘ethnic cleansing’ carried out by Bosnian-Serb paramilitaries backed by Milosevic’s government.
