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The United Kingdom (along with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar) was a member state of the European Union (EU) and of its predecessor the European Communities (EC) – principally the European Economic Community (EEC) – from 1 January 1973 until 31 January 2020.
Edward Heath as Prime Minister who was staunchly pro-European led the UK into the European Communities in 1973.. When proposals for a European customs union were advanced after World War II, there was widespread political opposition in the UK: the Federation of British Industries and the government's economic ministries opposed British participation as the establishment of a common external ...
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. [ 1 ] Established as an informal summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the commencement of the Treaty of Lisbon .
The United Kingdom was a member of the European Economic Area as a member of the European Union. Questions have been raised as to whether a state that withdraws from the EU automatically withdraws from the EEA, or whether such a withdrawal requires notice under Article 127 of the EEA Agreement [ 5 ] – and, if the courts so decide, whether ...
On 31 July 1961 the United Kingdom, [3] Ireland [4] and Denmark [5] applied to join the EC. In 1963, after negotiations, [6] France vetoed the United Kingdom's application because of the aversion of Charles de Gaulle to the UK, [4] which he considered a "trojan horse" for the United States. [1] De Gaulle resigned the French presidency in 1969.
Until 2002, the venue for European Council summits was the member state that held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. However, European leaders agreed during ratification of the Nice Treaty to forego this arrangement at such a time as the total membership of the European Union surpassed 18 member states. [29]
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties, and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their own sovereignty through the institutions of the European Union in certain aspects of government.
For the next forty-one years, the result provided a major pro-European direction to politicians, particularly in the UK Parliament and later in the newly devolved establishments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, until the 2016 EU membership referendum was held on Thursday 23 June 2016, when the UK voted by 51.9% to 48.1% to leave the ...