Foreign Affairs Flashcards
Info that is on the specification
When was the British application into the EEC approved?
1973
Which political leader got Britain into the EEC?
Conservative leader : Heath
What change played a huge role in British acceptance into the EEC?
change in French representative from Charles De Gaulle to Georges Pompidou
Why did Pompidou accept British application to the EEC?
he felt that Europe needed Britain as much as Britain needed the EEC
How did joining the EEC spark political debate?
many of the conservatives did not believe entry to the EEC was a good idea - as they believed Britain would be surrendering sovereignty
Who was one of the largest anti-EEC critics?
Enoch Powell
How did Labour feel in regards to entry into the EEC?
even more split than conservative - lead to a national referendum
Why were people so concerned about Britain’s EEC entry?
felt it was 16 years too late and they missed out on all of the formative years and they would suffer greatly for it
What was Wilson’s main aim when labour came back to power in 1974?
party unity
When was the EEC referendum?
1975
What did those who were in favour of joining the EEC argue?
the economic situation in Britain needed the EEC for survival
What did those who were not in favour of joining the EEC argue?
that Britain would lose its independence and it would have a negative effect on workers
How could holding a referendum appear negative?
it shows lack of commitment
How did conservative focus on Europe and joining the EEC have negative consequence for Britain & USA’s special relationship?
as Heath focused on Europe he neglected the special relationship - this caused some issues as he was less inclined to strengthen the Atlantic Alliance
How did Heath damage the special relationship between Britain and the USA?
he rejected US attempts to use Britain as a link between the US and Europe
What factor in 1973 worsened the special relationship?
The Yom Kippur War
How did labour deal with the special relationship differently to the conservatives?
Wilson and Callaghan both still valued the Atlantic Alliance
What is one of the reasons that despite tensions that Britain and the USA continued to work together in the 1970s?
their shared foreign policy objective of holding back communism
What are two communist countries that caused problems with Britain?
USSR & China
What was British and the USSR relationship like after the Cuban Missile Crisis?
during the 1970s there was a dente
What is a dente?
the easing of hostility between nations
Why were there still tensions between USSR and Britain?
- fears of underlaying influence in Eastern Europe
- Markov affair
What is the Markov affair?
- Georgi Markov (Bulgarian) who defected to the west in 1969
- very outspoken in his criticism towards the Bulgarian communist regime
- he was assassinated in London in 1978 & the Russian secret service suspected to be the cause
How was the relationship between Britain and China before the 1970s?
strained
What caused the British to want to mend their relationship with China?
US began to thaw relations and visited China
What were China and Britain’s relationship like by the end of the 70s?
improved + there was the first visit to Britain from China since the communist revolution
