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European Centre @ POLIS

Department of Politics and International Studies
 

As the Prime Minister triggers Article 50, two new blog posts by the Centre's director Dr Julie Smith shed light on how we got here and where we go from here. Read 'Absent from the start: Britain’s leery relationship with the EU' and 'Opinion: The Road to Brexit, or the UK’s Journey into the Unknown'

Absent from the start: Britain’s leery relationship with the EU

First published on the LSE Brexit blog, 30 Mar 2017

Britain has always been leery of European integration, only seeking to join the EEC when the economic advantages became clear – and then thwarted twice by Charles de Gaulle. As a result, the UK was absent when the founding principles and practices of the Community were drawn up, and absent during the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. Julie Smith says these absences have defined our relationship with the rest of the bloc.

 

and

First published on the University of Cambridge website, 29 Mar 2017

The Prime Minister's triggering of Article 50 is merely the end of the beginning, argues Dr Julie Smith.

 

 

Dr Julie Smith is Director of the European Centre in the POLIS Department and a member of the House of Lords. Her new book, The UK’s Journeys into and out of the EU: Destinations Unknown, was published by Routledge in February.