History of European Union -- United Kingdom Relations - wikipedia History of European Union -- United Kingdom Relations Part of a series of articles on the United Kingdom in the European Union Accession 1973 EC enlargement 1975 Referendum Act 1975 EC membership referendum 1972 EC Act UK rebate 2011 EU Act Membership The Euro European Movement UK Nationality law UK Euroscepticism Maastricht Rebels Black Wednesday Officials and bodies EU Committee European Scrutiny Committee Northern Ireland Executive in Brussels EU Representative in London Young European Movement UK UK European Commissioners Permanent EU Representatives Legislation 1972 EC Act 1986 EC ( Amendment ) Act 1993 EC ( Amendment ) Act 1998 EC ( Amendment ) Act 2002 EC ( Amendment ) Act 2008 EU ( Amendment ) Act 2011 EU Act European Parliament Elections 1979 1984 1999 2009 2014 1973 delegation 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th Withdrawal 2004 -- 05 EU Bill 2013 -- 14 EU ( Referendum ) Bill 2015 -- 16 EU membership renegotiation 2015 EU Referendum Act 2016 EU ( Referendum ) Act ( Gibraltar ) 2016 EU membership referendum Issues Endorsements Opinion polling Results Causes Campaigns Organisations advocating and campaigning for a referendum People 's Pledge Labour for a Referendum Leave Vote Leave ( official lead group ) Business for Britain Conservatives for Britain Students for Britain Labour Leave Leave.EU Bpoplive Grassroots Out Get Britain Out The Freedom Association Better Off Out Other anti-EU advocacy organisations Bruges Group Campaign for an Independent Britain Remain Britain Stronger in Europe ( official lead group ) Labour In for Britain European Movement UK Other pro-EU advocacy organisations Britain in Europe British Influence Business for New Europe Nucleus People 's Vote Pejorative term for pro-EU advocacy Project Fear Media coverage Brexit : The Movie In or Out Aftermath International reactions Terms of Withdrawal from EU ( Referendum ) Bills 2016 Conservative Party election 2016 Labour Party election 2017 Liberal Democrats Party election Proposed second Scottish independence referendum Proposed London independence The New European European Union ( Withdrawal ) Act 2018 ( including meaningful vote ) Gibraltar 2017 General Election EU Withdrawal Agreement ( Public Vote ) Bill 2017 - 19 UK 's relations with EU after 2019 Triggering of Article 50 & Negotiations R ( Miller ) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union ' EU ( Notification of Withdrawal ) Act 2017 UK invocation of Article 50 Brexit negotiations Department for Exiting the EU ( Brexit Department ) Department for International Trade Post-referendum organisations Change Britain More United Open Britain Calls for second vote European Union Withdrawal Agreement ( Public Vote ) Bill 2017 - 19 Organisations campaigning for a second vote via People 's Vote Best for Britain Britain for Europe European Movement UK Healthier IN the EU Open Britain Scientists for EU See also Opposition to Brexit in the United Kingdom Since the foundation of the European Communities, the United Kingdom has been an important neighbour and is currently a major member, until its withdrawal. Research shows that the United Kingdom 's membership of the European Union has contributed to higher incomes, played an important role in stopping British economic decline during the 1950s and 1960s, and has increased trade and reduced trade costs. Contents 1 EU roots and British accession ( 1957 -- 1973 ) 2 Referendum of 1975 3 From Referendum to Maastricht Treaty ( 1975 -- 1992 ) 4 Maastricht Treaty and Referendum Party 5 Role of UKIP ( 1993 -- 2016 ) 6 Controversy on the European Court of Human Rights in 2013 7 Euroscepticism ( 1993 -- 2016 ) 8 Opinion polling 9 Brexit ( 2017 -- 2019 ) 10 References EU roots and British Accession ( 1957 -- 1973 ) See also : Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities 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 practices to agriculture '' had `` made Britain incompatible with Europe '' and that Britain harboured a `` deep - seated hostility '' to any pan-European project. Once de Gaulle had relinquished the French presidency in 1969, the UK made a third and successful application for membership. The question of sovereignty had been discussed at the time in an official Foreign and Commonwealth Office document. It listed among `` Areas of policy in which parliamentary freedom to legislate will be affected by entry into the European Communities '' : Customs duties, Agriculture, Free movement of labour, services and capital, Transport, and Social Security for migrant workers. The document concluded ( paragraph 26 ) that it was advisable to put the considerations of influence and power before those of formal sovereignty. The Treaty of Accession was signed in January 1972 by the then prime minister Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party. Parliament 's European Communities Act 1972 was enacted on 17 October, and the UK 's instrument of ratification was deposited the next day ( 18 October ), letting the United Kingdom 's membership of the EC come into effect on 1 January 1973. Referendum of 1975 Main article : United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum, 1975 In 1975, the United Kingdom held its first ever national referendum on whether the UK should remain in the European Communities. The opposition Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, had contested the October 1974 general election with a commitment to renegotiate Britain 's terms of membership of the EC and then hold a referendum on whether to remain in the EC on the new terms. All of the major political parties and the mainstream press supported continuing membership of the EC. However, there were significant divides within the ruling Labour Party ; a 1975 one - day party conference voted by two to one in favour of withdrawal, and seven of the 23 cabinet ministers were opposed to EC membership, with Harold Wilson suspending the constitutional convention of Cabinet collective responsibility to allow those ministers to publicly campaign against the government. On 5 June 1975, the electorate were asked to vote yes or no on the question : `` Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community ( Common Market ) ? '' Every administrative county and region in the UK returned majority `` Yes '' votes, apart from the Shetland Islands and the Outer Hebrides. With a turnout of just under 65 %, the outcome of the vote was 67.2 % in favour of staying in, and the United Kingdom remained a member of the EC. Support for the UK to leave the EC in 1975, in the data, appears unrelated to the support for Leave in the 2016 referendum. From referendum to Maastricht Treaty ( 1975 -- 1992 ) Comparison of results of 1975 and 2016 referendums In 1979, the United Kingdom opted out of the newly formed European Monetary System ( EMS ), which was the precursor to the creation of the euro currency. The opposition Labour Party campaigned in the 1983 general election on a commitment to withdraw from the EC without a referendum. It was heavily defeated ; the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher was re-elected. The Labour Party subsequently changed its policy. In 1985, the United Kingdom ratified the Single European Act -- the first major revision to the Treaty of Rome -- without a referendum, with the full support of the Thatcher government. In October 1990 -- despite the deep reservations of Margaret Thatcher, who was under pressure from her senior ministers -- the United Kingdom joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism ( ERM ), with the pound sterling pegged to the deutschmark. Maastricht Treaty and referendum Party Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister in November 1990, amid internal divisions within the Conservative Party that arose partly from her increasingly Eurosceptic views. The United Kingdom was forced to withdraw from the ERM in September 1992, after the pound sterling came under pressure from currency speculators ( an episode known as Black Wednesday ). The resulting cost to UK taxpayers was estimated to be in excess of £ 3 billion. As a result of the Maastricht Treaty, the European Communities became the European Union on 1 November 1993. The new name reflected the evolution of the organisation from an economic union into a political union. As a result of the Lisbon Treaty, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, the Maastricht Treaty is now known, in updated form as, the Treaty on European Union ( 2007 ) or TEU, and the Treaty of Rome is now known, in updated form, as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ( 2007 ) or TFEU. The Referendum Party was formed in 1994 by Sir James Goldsmith to contest the 1997 general election on a platform of providing a referendum on the UK 's membership of the EU. It fielded candidates in 547 constituencies at that election, and won 810,860 votes or 2.6 % of the total votes cast. It failed to win a single parliamentary seat because its vote was spread out across the country, and lost its deposit ( funded by Goldsmith ) in 505 constituencies. Role of UKIP ( 1993 -- 2016 ) The UK Independence Party ( UKIP ), a Eurosceptic political party, was also formed, in 1993. It achieved third place in the UK during the 2004 European elections, second place in the 2009 European elections and first place in the 2014 European elections, with 27.5 % of the total vote. This was the first time since the 1910 general election that any party other than the Labour or Conservative parties had taken the largest share of the vote in a nationwide election. UKIP 's electoral success in the 2014 European election has been documented as the strongest correlate of the support for the leave campaign in the 2016 referendum. In 2014, UKIP won two by - elections, triggered by defecting Conservative MPs, and in the 2015 general election took 12.6 % of the total vote and held one of the two seats won in 2014. Controversy on the European Court of Human Rights in 2013 The European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR ) was drafted in 1950, largely under British leadership, and its court ( ECtHR ) was established in 1953. EU institutions are bound under article 6 of the Treaty of Nice to respect human rights under the Convention, over and above for example the Law of the United Kingdom. The Court was criticised especially within the Conservative Party for ruling in favour of British prisoners obtaining the right to vote. During the referendum the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, had called for the UK to leave the ECHR Euroscepticism ( 1993 -- 2016 ) See also : Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom In a statistical analysis published in April 2016, Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University defined Euroscepticism as the wish to sever or reduce the powers of the EU, and conversely Europhilia as the desire to preserve or increase the powers of the EU. According to this definition, the British Social Attitudes ( BSA ) surveys show an increase in euroscepticism from 38 % ( 1993 ) to 65 % ( 2015 ). Euroscepticism should however not be confused with the wish to leave the EU : the BSA survey for the period July -- November 2015 shows that 60 % backed the option `` continue as an EU member '', and only 30 % backed the option to `` withdraw ''. Opinion polling Since 1977, both pro - and anti-European views have had majority support at different times, with some dramatic swings between the two camps. In the United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum of 1975, two - thirds of British voters favoured continued EC membership. The highest - ever rejection of membership was in 1980, the first full year of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 's term of office, with 65 % opposed to and 26 % in favour of membership. After Thatcher had negotiated a rebate of British membership payments in 1984, those favouring the EC maintained a lead in the opinion polls, except during 2000, as Prime Minister Tony Blair aimed for closer EU integration, including adoption of the euro currency, and around 2011, as immigration into the United Kingdom became increasingly noticeable. As late as December 2015 there was, according to ComRes, a clear majority in favour of remaining in the EU, albeit with a warning that voter intentions would be considerably influenced by the outcome of Prime Minister David Cameron 's ongoing EU reform negotiations, especially with regards to the two issues of `` safeguards for non-Eurozone member states '' and `` immigration ''. The following events are relevant. Brexit ( 2017 -- 2019 ) See also : United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 From 2017 to 2019, UK has engaged in negotiating a Brexit between the European Union and herself. Between UK and EU, this Brexit would consist in a withdrawal agreement and a trade agreement, while at a global level this would / might also split various FTA. The withdrawal agreement would focus on the citizens, the financial settlement, and the question of Ireland. It is expected that sufficient progress is performed in each of the three issues. References Jump up ^ Crafts, Nicholas ( 2017 ). The Economics of UK - EU Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. pp. 9 -- 45. doi : 10.1007 / 978 - 3 - 319 - 55495 - 2_2. ISBN 9783319554945. Jump up ^ Mulabdic, Alen ; Osnago, Alberto ; Ruta, Michele ( 2017 ). The Economics of UK - EU Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. pp. 253 -- 282. doi : 10.1007 / 978 - 3 - 319 - 55495 - 2_10. ISBN 9783319554945. Jump up ^ Campos, Nauro ; Coricelli, Fabrizio ; Moretti, Luigi ( 2016 - 04 - 27 ). `` The eye, the needle and the camel : Rich countries can benefit from EU membership ''. VoxEU.org. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 29. Jump up ^ Campos, Nauro F. ; Coricelli, Fabrizio ( 2017 ). The Economics of UK - EU Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. pp. 283 -- 287. doi : 10.1007 / 978 - 3 - 319 - 55495 - 2_11. ISBN 9783319554945. Jump up ^ `` 1967 : De Gaulle says ' non ' to Britain -- again ''. BBC News. 27 November 1976. Retrieved 9 March 2016. Jump up ^ FCO 30 / 1048, Legal and constitutional implications of UK entry into EEC ( open from 1 January 2002 under the Thirty - year rule ). ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Into Europe ''. Parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` English text of EU Accession Treaty 1972, Cmnd. 7463 '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 24 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` 1973 : Britain joins the EEC ''. BBC News. 1 January 1973. Retrieved 9 March 2016. Jump up ^ Alex May, Britain and Europe since 1945 ( 1999 ). Jump up ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/26/newsid_2503000/2503155.stm Jump up ^ DAvis Butler. `` The 1975 Referendum '' ( PDF ). Eureferendum.com. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Research Briefings -- The 1974 -- 1975 UK Renegotiation of EEC Membership and Referendum ''. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 19 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Who Voted for Brexit ? A comprehensive district level analysis ''. Becker, Fetzer, Novy, University of Warwick. Retrieved 22 November 2016. ^ Jump up to : Vaidyanathan, Rajini ( 4 March 2010 ). `` Michael Foot : What did the ' longest suicide note ' say ? ''. BBC News Magazine. BBC. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Jump up ^ Dury, Hélène. `` Black Wednesday '' ( PDF ). Retrieved 24 February 2016. Jump up ^ Tempest, Matthew ( 9 February 2005 ). `` Treasury papers reveal cost of Black Wednesday ''. The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` EU treaties ''. Europa ( web portal ). Archived from the original on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016. Jump up ^ `` EUROPA The EU in brief ''. Europa ( web portal ). 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Jump up ^ New Open Europe / ComRes poll : Failure to win key reforms could swing UK 's EU referendum vote openeurope.org, 16 December 2015. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_European_Union -- United_Kingdom_relations&oldid = 849590765 '' Categories : United Kingdom and the European Union Hidden categories : Pages with DOIs inactive since 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2018 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 10 July 2018, at 01 : 33 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: when did great britain join the european union
Answer: 1 January 1973