British Parliament joins the European Community

 

Margaret Thatcher campaigning to stay in Europe during the 1975 referendum

February 17 1972 - The British Parliament voted on this day to join the European Communities, as it was then known.

After battling European nations had twice dragged the world into horrific global conflict, strong voices called out in the mid-twentieth century for unity.

But military stability was only one side of the coin. European economies were threatened both by the giant trade market of the United States and by the vast economic resources of the Soviet Union.

On top of that, by 1950 it was obvious that centuries of world supremacy by Western Europe was at an end. The answer to these problems, according to a number of economists and politicians, was European economic integration.