The Commonwealth after de Gaulle
| Author | J. D. B. Miller |
| Published date | 01 March 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070206401900103 |
| Date | 01 March 1964 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Commonwealth
After
de Gaulle
J.
D.
B.
Miller*
resident
de
Gaulle
dropped
his
bomb
on
the
United
Kingdom
at
a
press
conference
on
14th
January
1963.
He
expressed
doubts about
whether
Britain
was
yet
ready
to
join
the
European
Economic
Community,
questioned
her
sincerity
about
wishing
to
be
part
of
Europe, and
indicated
that
her
commit-
ments
abroad
(to
the
Commonwealth
and
the
United
States)
were
at
variance
with
the
proper
obligations
of
a
European
state.
A
fortnight
later the
negotiations
for
Britain's
entry
into
the
E.E.C.
were
suspended;
they
have
not
yet
been
resumed,
in
spite
of
the
clear
wish of
the
non-French
members
of
the
E.E.C.
that
some decision
should
be
made
about
British
membership.
Not
only
have
things
been
quiescent
as
regards
E.E.C.;
they
have
also
been
quiescent
in
the
Commonwealth.
There
was
a
meeting
of
Commonwealth
Trade
Ministers
in
London
in
May,
prior
to
a
Ministerial
meeting
of
G.A.T.T.
to
consider
how
to
deal
with
President
Kennedy's
proposals
for
tariff
reduction;
but
it
seems
that
the
Trade
Ministers
were
much
preoccupied
with
the
"Ken-
nedy
round",
and
that
the
prospect
of
world-wide
changes
in
trade
arrangements
proved more
important
than
any
considera-
tion
of how
the
Commonwealth
itself
stood
after
the
French
rejection
of
British
entry
into
the
E.E.C.
In
general,
there
has
been
an
air
of
peaceful
quiet
over
the
E.E.C.
issue
in
the
Common-
wealth, in
contrast
with the
febrile
anxiety
expressed
in
a
number
of Commonwealth capitals
in
1962.
This
article
is
intended to
examine
the
Commonwealth
situa-
tion
before
President
de
Gaulle
took
his
unexpected
action;
to
ask
how
the
Gaullist
attitude
affected
the
Commonwealth
aspect
of
Britain's
possible
entry
into
the
E.E.C.;
to
look
at
Common-
wealth
reactions;
and
to
ask
what
sort
of
future
relationship
can
be
discerned
between
Britain,
the
E.E.C.,
and
the
overseas
members
of
the
Commonwealth.
The
Commonwealth
Prime
Ministers
met
in
London
between
10th
and
19th
September,
1962,
the
question
of
British
entry
*
Professor
of
International
Relations,
Australian
National
University.
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