History of European Union–United Kingdom relations History of European Union–United Kingdom relations Since the foundation of the European Communities, the United Kingdom has been an important neighbour and is currently a major member, until its withdrawal. The UK was not a signatory of the three original treaties that were incorporated into what was then the European Communities, including the most well known of these, the 1957 Treaty of Rome, establishing the European Economic Community (EEC). The UK's applications to join in 1963 and 1967 were vetoed by the President of France, Charles de Gaulle, who said that "a number of aspects of Britain's economy, from working
Treaty establishing the European Defence Community Treaty establishing the European Defence Community The Treaty establishing the European Defence Community, also known as the Treaty of Paris, is an unratified treaty signed on 27 May 1952 by the six 'inner' countries of European integration; West Germany, France, Italy, and the Benelux countries. The treaty would have created a European Defence Community (EDC) with a pan-European defence force. The treaty failed to obtain ratification in the French parliament, and consequently never entered into force. Instead, West Germany was admitted into the Western European Union (WEU), a dormant successor of the 1948 Western Union, as well as NATO. The