# European Movement UK

Part of a series of articles on :
Brexit :
Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union
Glossary of terms :
Background
European Communities Act
1975 EC membership referendum
UK rebate
Bruges speech
No. No. No.
Maastricht Rebels
Black Wednesday
European Union (Amendment) Act 2008
European Union Act 2011
UK opt-outs from EU legislation
Euroscepticism in the UK
UK opinion polling on EU membership
Campaigns for a referendum
People's Pledge
Labour for a Referendum
Bloomberg speech
In or Out
2013–14 EU (Referendum) Bill (unsuccessful)
2014 European Parliament election
2014 UK Parliament by-elections
Clacton
Heywood and Middleton
Rochester and Strood
2015 UK general election
2015–16 EU membership renegotiation :
2016 EU referendum
EU Referendum Act (Gibraltar)
EU Referendum (Date of Referendum etc.) Regulations
EU Referendum (Conduct) Regulations
Issues
Endorsements
Opinion polling
UK Government pro-EU leaflet
Campaigns
Leave campaigns
Vote Leave (official)
Business for Britain
Conservatives for Britain
BeLeave
Leave.EU
Bpoplive
The Freedom Association
Better Off Out
Grassroots Out
Labour Leave
Get Britain Out
Bruges Group
Campaign for an Independent Britain
Brexit: The Movie
Remain campaigns
Britain Stronger in Europe (official)
Labour In for Britain
European Movement UK
Britain in Europe
British Influence
Business for New Europe
Nucleus
Project Fear
Outcome
Results
Causes for result
International reactions
Immediate aftermath
2016 Conservative Party election
2016 Labour Party election
2016 UKIP election
Department for Exiting the EU
Department for International Trade
Allegations of unlawful campaigning
Alleged Russian interference :
Notice of withdrawal
Article 50 process
Miller case (Article 50)
EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017
Brexit plan
Repeal Bill plan
2017 UK general election :
Negotiations
Negotiation positions
EU negotiation mandate
Chequers agreement
Timeline: 2017, 2018, 2019
2019 European Parliament election
2019 UK general election :
Withdrawal agreement
Brexit divorce bill
Fish for finance
Irish backstop
No-deal Brexit
Northern Ireland Protocol
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
Windsor Framework :
Legislation
Withdrawal Act 2018 (Gibraltar)
Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018
Cooper–Letwin Act
Benn Act
2019 suspension of rebel Conservative MPs
Public Vote Bill (not passed)
Terms of Withdrawal Bills (not passed)
Scottish EU Continuity Bill (blocked)
Withdrawal Agreement Act (Gibraltar)
Scottish EU Continuity Act
Internal Market Act
EU (Future Relationship) Act
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill :
Impact
Impact on the Irish border
Good Friday Agreement
Impact on the EU
Economic effects
Effects on Gibraltar
Scientific cooperation
Effects on popular culture
Retained EU law
2021 Jersey dispute :
EU–UK relations
Relations pre- and post-Brexit
EU–UK trade negotiation
EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)
Partnership Council
Partnership Assembly
Relations with EU member states
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Ireland–UK border
British–Irish Council
North/South Ministerial Council
Italy
Lithuania
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Status of Gibraltar
Gibraltar–Spain border
Sweden
Conjectured EEA membership :
Opposition
Post-referendum opinion polling
New initiatives
Change Britain
More United
Open Britain
The New European
Unite to Remain
Led By Donkeys
Revoke Article 50 petition
Postcards from the 48%
Proposed second Scottish independence referendum
Calls for a second referendum
People's Vote
Britain for Europe
European Movement UK
For our Future's Sake
Healthier IN the EU
InFacts
Open Britain
Our Future Our Choice
Scientists for EU
Other organisations
Best for Britain
Bollocks to Brexit
Change UK
Liberal Democrats
Right to Vote :
Timeline Bloomberg speech Jan 2013 Referendum Bill blockedJan 2014 European Parliament election May 2014 2015 general election May 2015 Renegotiation begins Jun 2015 Referendum Act passed Dec 2015 Renegotiation concluded Feb 2016 Referendum held Jun 2016 David Cameron resigns as PM Jul 2016 Theresa May becomes PM Jul 2016 Article 50 judgement Jan 2017 Brexit plan presentedFeb 2017 Notification Act passed Mar 2017 Article 50 invoked Mar 2017 Repeal Bill plan presentedMar 2017 2017 general election Jun 2017 Brexit negotiations begin Jun 2017 Withdrawal Act passedJun 2018 Chequers plan presented Jul 2018 Withdrawal agreement plan presented July 2018 Withdrawal agreement released Nov 2018 Scottish Continuity Bill blockedDec 2018 Meaningful votes Jan–Mar 2019 Brexit delayed until 12 April Mar 2019 Cooper–Letwin Act passed Apr 2019 Brexit delayed until 31 October Apr 2019 European Parliament election May 2019 Theresa May resigns as PM Jul 2019 Boris Johnson becomes PM Jul 2019 Prorogation and annulment Aug–Sep 2019 Benn Act passed Sep 2019 Withdrawal agreement revised Oct 2019 Brexit delayed until 31 January Oct 2019 2019 general election Dec 2019 Agreement Act passed Jan 2020 UK leaves the European Union Jan 2020 Implementation period begins Jan 2020 UK–EU trade deal agreed Dec 2020 Future Relationship Act passed Dec 2020 Scottish Continuity Act passed Dec 2020 Implementation period ends Dec 2020 New EU–UK relationship begins Jan 2021 UK–EU trade deal ratified Apr 2021 Windsor Framework released Feb 2023 Windsor framework adopted Mar 2023 :
EU portal
UK portal :
vte :
The European Movement UK is a non-profit, independent all-party pressure group in the United Kingdom which campaigns for a close relationship with the European Union, and to ensure that European values, standards, and rights are upheld in British law post-Brexit. It is part of the European Movement International which is a pan-European network of national and pan-European organisations that seeks to promote new ideas about the future of Europe. It is the most prominent pro-Europe group in Britain.
The Honorary President was Lord Ashdown until his death in December 2018. Former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine was appointed as president in May 2019. In December 2022, Lord Adonis stood down as chairman having been in the position since March 2021. Prior to him, the chairman was Stephen Dorrell. Following an election in March 2023, members of the movement voted for Mike Galsworthy to become the new chairman.
As a grassroots-powered organisation, in addition to its membership, the European Movement UK has a network of local groups which campaign regularly in local communities across the local on campaigns of local and national importance.

## History
### The creation of the United Europe Movement and the Congress of Europe

The origins of the European Movement lie in the aftermath of the Second World War. Following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill in Zurich in 1946, his son-in-law, Duncan Sandys, organised the launch of the United Europe Movement in 1947. A 'provisional committee to further the cause of a United Europe' met on 16 January 1947 to bring together a wide coalition of supporters of European Unity from the federalists in Federal Union, a campaigning organisation set up in 1939, to supporters of intergovernmental European cooperation. This United Europe Committee was formally launched on 14 May 1947 as the 'United Europe Movement' (UEM).
Under the leadership of Sandys and Joseph Retinger, organiser of the European League for Economic Cooperation (ELEC), a committee was established to bring together several organisations working towards European Unity, including the UEM, ELEC, the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales, the European Parliamentary Union, and the European Union of Federalists. In Paris on 20 July 1947 ELEC, the UEM, the EPU and the EUF agreed to establish the Committee for the Co-ordination of the International Movements for European Unity. The EPU did not however subsequently ratify its participation in the Committee but the Nouvelles Equipes Internationales agreed to join. In December 1947, the Committee was renamed the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity and Sandys was elected its Chairman and Retinger its Honorary Secretary.
The Committee organised the Congress of Europe in the Hague in May 1948. More than eight hundred delegates from across Europe gathered, under the chairmanship of Sir Winston Churchill, to create a new international movement to promote European unity and prevent further wars between its European countries. The British section of the European Movement was founded a year later. It was also supported by Clement Attlee, the British Prime Minister. Churchill consistently made clear that he saw any 'united Europe' rooted in 'a partnership between France and Germany'. "In all this urgent work" as he put it, "France and Germany must take the lead together. Great Britain, the British Commonwealth of Nations, mighty America, and I trust, Soviet Russia....must be the friends and Sponsors of the new Europe, and must champion its right to live."

### Campaigning activity 1970s to date

The British European Movement, mostly working through its Campaign Group based in Chandos House, London, worked closely with the Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath in the early 1970s when Heath applied to join the European Union.
During the UK's European Communities membership referendum in 1975, the organisation campaigned strongly within the 'Yes' campaign and worked with the Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson.
Other campaigns since then have included pressing for direct elections to the European Parliament in the 1970s and promoting the benefits of the single market in the run-up to 1992.
In 1997 the British European Movement promoted heavily its Europe 97 campaign (ninety-seven reasons for the UK to be in the European Union).
It campaigned for Britain to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum and continued to oppose Brexit in collaboration with other major pro-European campaign groups such as Open Britain and Britain for Europe.
In February 2018 George Soros's Open Society Foundations donated £500,000 to a number of groups opposing Brexit including £182,000 to European Movement UK. In April the same year the group joined the People's Vote to campaign for a second vote.

## Leadership
### Chairs

The current chair of the UK European Movement is Mike Galsworthy, who was elected to the position in 2023. The previous Chair was former Labour minister The Lord Adonis. Prior to that, chairs included former Conservative ministers Ian Taylor and Stephen Dorrell, Labour MEP Richard Corbett, Conservative MP Laura Sandys and Labour Peer Giles Radice.

## Partner Organisations
### Scotland

European Movement in Scotland (EMiS) is a partner organisation of European Movement UK for Scotland, with reciprocal membership.

### Wales

Wales for Europe has been a strategic partner of the European Movement UK since 2021. European Movement UK members in Wales are also members of Wales for Europe and Wales for Europe is represented with 6 seats on the European Movement UK’s National Council.

### Young people

Young European Movement UK (YEM) is a pro-European youth organisation and the product of two parent organisations, the youth section of the European Movement and the UK section of the Young European Federalists (JEF Europe). YEM is open to membership from those aged under 35.