Reading Paper 5: “Thatcher’s Speech at the College of Europe, Bruges”

Allison Brown 4215: European Union Dr. Anderson 11 February, 2021 Reading Paper 5: “Thatcher’s Speech at the College of Europe, Bruges” Author: Margaret Thatcher -- Also known as the “Iron Lady”, was a member of the British Conservative Party and served as Britain’s first prime minister from 1979-1990. She was the only individual to hold that position in the 20th century for three consecutive terms, and at the time of her resignation was Britain's longest serving prime minister since 1827. Thatcher was known economically for her transformation of the British economy from statism to liberalism. With regards to the broader European Community, Thatcher in 1984 drastically reduced Britain’s financial contribution to the E.C. budget, and in her third term acted increasingly aggressively against the E.C. and other “federalist” drives for a single currency (eventually the euro) and deeper political unions. Thatcher left the position of PM in 1990 with controversy and parliamentary disapproval of the implementation of her poll tax in 1989 and hesitancy with a fourth Thatcher term. Published: This speech was orally delivered at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. Sir Ronald Millar, served as Thatcher's speech-writer since 1973, although it is unclear how much of the Burges speech was written by either Thatcher or Millar. Date: Delivered20 September, 1988. Globally, the NAFTA Agreement was drawn for free trade between the US and Canada a Pan-Am 747 explodes in a terrorist attack that crashes in Lockerbie, Scotland and 270 die. In Europe, the European Council was debating the adoption of a single currency and other regional policies. Thesis: Europe has a diverse past and it can unite the region, but in an ever-changing world, Britain must be wary of the formation of a federalist/centralized government in Brussels, a homogenous European identity, and individual interests. Gist: Europe, through its shared common history and endeavours, faces a gauntlet of challenges in the late 1980s. Many of these challenges involve the continent’s role with its allies and the rest of the world. The best path forward for Britain is with transatlantic and regional alliances, including NATO and agricultural policies, but also seeking to protect their own values and their best interests domestically. In Thatcher’s opinion, the best interests of Britain is to uphold its liberalization and trade. By many this speech is perceived to be an attack on the “European Project”, although Thatcher intended the speech to be antifederalist and only against the consolidation of the EC. After what would come to be known as “the Bruges Speech” her own Conservative Party shifted more towards Euroscepticism. Telling Examples: 1) Single, Homogenous Europe? - Thatcher states the EC body is for all of its diverse members in Europe, and that it must continue to acknowledge their differences in language, religion, and cultures. She asks the EC not to become “...ossified by endless regulation...” (106) and to avoid the molding of Europe into a single, homogeneous identity. She also argues that the EC should not try to replicate the US that is seen to be moving towards a greater centralization of power but to the USSR that was moving away from centralized power. 2) Common Agricultural Policy - In the speech, Thatcher notes the success of the February 1988 European Council meeting the cut expenditure spending for the storing and disposal of food surpluses after she previously called for reform over wasteful practices. Thatcher suggested that by achieving this, the budget could be redirected. She uses this as an example of failing central planning, “... detailed control does not work and that personal endeavor and initiative do” (108), and calls for a move towards a single market with free enterprise. 3) NATO - Although at times Thatcher arguably questions the value of European unification, she is unyielding on the importance of NATO and defence. She notes that a changing Europe and world only enforces the need for security, “Above all, at a time of change and uncertainty in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, we must preserve Europe's unity and resolve so that whatever may happen, our defence is sure.” (110) Criticism: Thatcher’s speech is succinct and addresses a wide range of issues facing Britain and its involvement in the wider European community at the time. Her use of historical examples and drawing on the two wars of the past century work as a call to unification for Europe, but also attempt to preserve her own nations’ sovereignty and differences from mainland Europe. While doing some background research for this reading, I found that some scholars even refer to this speech as the start of “Brexit”, and that Thatcher’s anti-European unification mindset would continue to rise both in her own party and the minds of Britons over the next thirty years. Allison Brown 4215: European Union Dr. Anderson 11 February, 2021 A statement of Thatcher’s that particularly stood out to me was, “Too often, the history of Europe is described as a series of interminable wars and quarrels.” (105) She further goes on to elaborate even though Europe is defined by these conflicts, so much of its collective identity is cultivated form their joint struggles and recovery, and that Britain plays a special role both in Europe’s past and unified future, but