On October 12th 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel committee said the EU had helped to transform Europe "from a continent of war to a continent of peace". In the photo, the three Presidents of Europe receive the Prize in Oslo on 10th December 2012.

FROM A CONTINENT OF WAR TO A CONTINENT OF PEACE

LESSON PLAN

- the aftermath of WWII

- Winston Churchill Zurich speech 1946 (oral comprehension)

- The Founding Fathers of Europe: differences in approach (research)

- The first steps: The ECSC and EURATOM

- The Treaty of Rome (EEC) versus EFTA

The creation of Europe

The Cost in human lives

Between 50-70 million dead during the war 2,5% of the world populationThe USSR: 21M China: 13M Germany: 7M Jews: 6MCivilians account for more than half of the dead13M Japanese and Germans deplacedMillions of Prisoners of War released and come home

The economic cost

The great European nations are economically ruinedMajor cities have been razed to the ground and infrastructure destroyedMillions are homeless and starving

The Psychological effects

People in a state of shock and disarrayThe Concentration Camps / Nuremberg trials (Nov '45 Oct '46)A bombs on JapanFrance: resistant or collaborator? 1500 executions carried out

The Rebuilding of Europe Winston Churchill, University of Zurich 19th September 1946

Listen to the recording and answer the following questions.

Churchill described the chaos and misery in Europe following WWII. He then outlined his plans to save the future. Here, he sums up his propsals at the end of his speech.

- What was the main aim of all nations?

- What name did he give to his union of Europen states?

- What was to be the first step?

- Who was to lead the European nations?

- What was the rle of the UK to be?

You will hear the recording three times.

The Founding Fathers of EuropeResearch: what role did they play?

Konrad Adenauer (Germany)Joseph Bech (Luxembourg)Johan Willem Beyen (Netherlands)Alcide De Gasperi (Italy)Robert Schuman (France)Paul-Henri Spaak (Belgium)

Robert Schuman (France)

Obviously, Schuman is remembered for his declaration on 9th May 1950 when he proposed the pooling of the production of coal and steel between Germany and France a proposition which was to form the embryo of the EEC but Schuman also believed in the EDC and was the first president of the predecssor of the European Parliament in 1958.

Alcide De GASPERI (Italy)

De Gasperi believed that peace in Europe must pass by European union and the spread of democracy rather than force. He pushed for the new Italy to join NATO and strongly supported the ECSC and the idea of the EDC. He played the rle of mediator between France and Germany and had a clear view of European integration complementing but not replacing nation-states.

Joseph Bech (Luxembourg)

Bech helped to cretae the BENELUX in 1944 while in exile in London. He realised that such a small nation like Luxembourg could only have a future in a unified Europe. He was in favour of the ECSC proposed by Schuman. At the Messina conference in 1955, he argued for economic union as first step in the future federation of Europe.

Konrad ADENAUER Der Alte (West Germany)

Konrad Adenauer was a convinced European who believed that after two World Wars, the only way to lasting peace was through a unified Europe. He fought for German reintegration in Europe through its participation pan-European organizations such as the ECSC, the EEC and NATO. He was the first Chancellor of the new West Germany and was the oldest Chancellor in recent German history. He also signed the Elyse Traty with France in 1963, putting and end to centuries of Franco-German animosity. In 2003, the Germans voted him the greatest German of all time.

Paul-Henri SPAAK (Belgium)

Spaak believed the future of Europe was in the creation of a supranational Europe this was first to be created through economic union, as he had done in the creation of the BENELUX. He believed in political union but not until economic union had been a success and argued for the entry of the UK into the EEC, against De Gaulle, before going any further. He was one of the major voices in European integration from the very outset.

Johan Willem BEYEN (Netherlands)

An international banker and businessman, Beyen proposed a plan in 1955 which put European integration back on track. He argued political union was for the moment impossible and could not be achieved without first creating economic union through the creation of a customs union, like BENELUX. His plan was accepted at Messina, after the failure of the EDC, and helped save the process of European integration when France was reluctant to go further. However, even though he argued for economic integration, he still believed political union would follow.

The Rebuilding of Europe Inetrgovernmentalism or Federalism?

1960

EFTA: the outer 7

EEC: the inner 6

Europe of Seven

The UK Denmark Portugal

Sweden Norway Austria

Switzerland

Europea of Six

France Germany Italy

BElgium NEtherlands

LUXembourg (BENELUX 1944)

What about

Churchill? De Gaulle?

TO BE OR NOT TO BE EUROPEAN?

The British Empire

458 million people - 20% world population / 37.4 million km2 - 25% of the land

The sun never sets on the British Empire

TO BE OR NOT TO BE EUROPEAN?

EIRE

After independence (relative) the Irish economy was based upon self-sufficiency, increased farming and dependence uopn trade with Great Britain

TO BE OR NOT TO BE EUROPEAN?

The Wind of ChangeHarold MacMillan 3rd February 1960, Cape Town

The empire was falling apart and with it trade links and their privileges relations were not good with the USA

"The wind of change is blowing through this [African] continent, and whether we like it or not, this growth of national consciousness is a political fact. We must all accept it as a fact, and our national policies must take account of it."

The First British Request for Admission to the EEC: 1961

Prime Minister Harold MacMillan (1957-1963)

Conservtaive Party

Edward (Ted) HeathChief Negotiator of Britain's first request to join the EEC

The British Commonwealth was falling apart due to pressure for independence. Its relationship with new US president JF Kennedy was not a simple one and the EEC was a success in continental Europe, more than EFTA was: Britain needed to trade further with Europe and entry into the EEC was in Britain's interest.

The British Government and the British people have been through a searching debate during the last few years on the subject of their relations with Europe. The result of the debate has been our present application. It was a decision arrived at, not on any narrow or short-term grounds, but as a result of a thorough assessment over a considerable period of the needs of our own country, of Europe, and of the free world as a whole. We recognise it as a great decision, a turning point in our history, and we take it in all seriousness. In saying that we wish to join the EEC, we mean that we desire to become full, whole-hearted and active members of the European Community in its widest sense and to go forward with you in the building of a new Europe."

The Second Request for Entry into the EEC: 1967

Prime Minister Harold Wilson (1964 -1970)

Labour Party

I want the House (of Commons), the country and our friends abroad to know that the Government are approaching the discussions I have foreshadowed with the clear intention and determination to enter the European Economic Community if, as we hope, our essential British and Commonwealth interests can be safeguarded. We meanbusiness.

Harold Wilson, Speech to the Consultive Assembly of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, January 23, 1967

More and more countries were bcoming independent, Britain's rle in the commonwealth was getting weaker and the sterling had been devalued it was again in Britain's interest to join the EEC.

NON, NON, NON!

Reasons for De Gaulle's Refusal:

- Britain was too dependent on external trade with the Commonwealth (former Empire)- Britian had too close relations with the USA (nuclear weapons / the Trojan Horse syndrome)- Britian was insular and had a different history they had refused in 1957 and created EFTA- Ireland was extremely poor and dependent on Britain for trade- Ireland had remained neutral during WWII and had since refused to join NATO

ACCESSION AT LAST ...

1969 De Gaulle's referendum on reform is defeated and he resigns, replaced by Georges Pompidou, favourable to Britain and Ireland's entry

1971: third request for entry1972: Accession Treaty signed, January 22nd 1973: Britain, Eire (and Denmark) become new member states

Ted Heath signs the Treaty for the UK

Patrick Hillery signs for Ireland

Margaret Thatcher UK Prime Minister 1979 1990 Conservative Party

Although a pro-European in 1974, Thatcher became a strong Euro-sceptic once in power. In 1984, she caused a scandal in negotiations at the EC Council meeting in Fontainebleau when she demanded I want my money back!. At the time, the UK was one of the greatest contibutors to the EEC whilst it received very little in subventions (80% of subventions went to the CAP and France in particular). Thatcher negotiated the deal on the British rebate which still exists despite Britain's wealth the UK receives a rebate of 66% on its contributions... or for every 1,50 the UK pays, they receive 1 in rebate. In order to change this system, voting has to be unanimous and the UK always refuses. The CAP received 80% of subventions in 1984, today only 40%; other countries have to pay the bill for the UK. rebate.

John Major (1990-1997) and the Maastricht Treaty

The Treaty of Maastricht responds to five key goals:

-strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the institutions;-improve the effectiveness of the institutions;-establish economic and monetary union (Euro)-develop the Community social dimension (European citizenship)-establish a common foreign and security policy.

The EEC became the EC and Maastricht set out a plan for politcal integration.

The British government negotiated a long time for the principle of subsidiarity to be included in the Treaty.

Subsidiarity is the the principle of taking decisions at the lowest level possible in the case of the European Community, this means at government level for the UK. The British government did not want to see British sovereignty being given away to Brussels.

The United Kingdom Independence Party

UKIP has 12 of the 73 UK seats in the European Parliament following the 2009 elections. UKIP has not won a seat in the House of Commons to date but is becoming the third party in British politics after the Conservatives and Labour.

It is a (far) rightwing populist party which plays on anti-European feeling and British nationalism.

UKIP was founded in 1993 by Alan Sked and other members of the all-party Anti-Federalist League a political party set up in November 1991 with the aim of fielding (proposing) candidates opposed to the Maastricht Treaty.Its primary objective was withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union

David Cameron, Conservative Prime Minister and the EU Referendum 2015

The present Prime Minister David Cameron, Conservative Party, is proposing a refrendum on the UK's presence in the EU as part of his political manifesto for the 2015 General Election. He says he is against an in-out question and prefers asking how Britain's rle in the EU can be modified. Critics say he is using the referendum to bring back rightwing voters tempted to vote UKIP and who would cost him a majority victory at the 2015 elections.

The Troubled Relationship Between the EU and the UK

The Poisoned ChalicePrime Minister Margaret Thatcher: the C.A.P. And Britain's rebate

Prime Minister John Major: the Maastricht Treaty and Subsidiarity

UKIP: get out of Europe

Prime Minister David Cameron: the 2015 referendum on staying in the EU