Skip to Main Content

A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair

Online ISBN:
9780191700309
Print ISBN:
9780199284559
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair

Stephen Wall
Stephen Wall
Stephen Wall is Britain's former ambassador to the European Union.
Find on
Published online:
3 October 2011
Published in print:
24 April 2008
Online ISBN:
9780191700309
Print ISBN:
9780199284559
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

For over 20 years, at the heart of Whitehall, the author worked for British leaders as they shaped Britain's European policy. He draws on his experience to trace a journey from 1982 to the present as successive British governments have wrestled with their relationship with their European Union (EU) partners. The book goes behind the scenes to tell the story of how Margaret Thatcher and her successors sought to reconcile Britain's national and European interests. Drawing on the documents of the period, it gives a unique insight into how Britain's leaders weighed the British national interest and the interests and personalities of their European counterparts. This is the story of Prime Ministers and Foreign Secretaries in intimate discussion with other EU leaders, of how politicians instruct and motivate their top officials to implement their political will and how those officials seek to turn political instruction into negotiating success. The book analyses British success and failure and shows how, despite differences of declared aim and personality, Britain's leaders have in practice followed very similar paths. Britain has been an awkward partner, often at odds with her fellow Europeans: a stranger in Europe. But with dogged determination and seriousness of purpose Britain's leaders have done much to shape and reform the modern Europe in which we live today.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close