Western Civilization - History Of European Society

Europe in the Age of The Cold War,1945–75633

Parliament to sit in Strasbourg, and the six members
added other supranational institutions such as the Euro-
pean Court of Human Rights (1953), a dedication to
human rights that would later become one of the hall-
marks of European unity when other states sought to
join. (Even if it were in Europe, the United States
would be ineligible for membership because the wide-
spread application of the death penalty in America vio-
lates the European standard of human rights.) When
the Coal and Steel Community prospered, this per-
suaded “the Six” to begin to discuss a common market
for all goods. The Rome Treaties of 1957 then created
the European Economic Community (the EEC)—often
called the Common Market—in which the Six ac-
cepted the gradual elimination of tariffs (1959–68)
among themselves and a common tariff policy toward
other countries.
The EEC enjoyed economic advantages during the
recovery of the 1950s and the prosperity of the 1960s.
Its success was so clear that seven other countries (Aus-
tria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland,
and a reluctant Britain) formed a similar organization,
the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1959.
The EEC, however, moved more quickly to economic
and political cooperation than the EFTA did, and by
the early 1960s EEC membership clearly was highly
desirable. Greece obtained associate status in the EEC

in 1961, with limited trade benefits, and Turkey

followed in 1963. Britain, Ireland, and Norway then ap-

plied for full membership. President de Gaulle—who

had never forgiven Britain and America for their treat-

ment of him during World War II and who believed

that the British were unwilling to surrender any mea-

sure of sovereignty to a continental organization—

vetoed British entry into the Common Market, how-

ever, leading the EEC to table all applications. Instead

of expanding, the EEC chose to tighten its internal unity,

and the EEC, the European Coal and Steel Community,

and other organizations linking the Six were merged to

form the European Community (EC) in 1967.

Charles de Gaulle remained an obstacle to expan-

sion of the EC until his retirement in 1969, but the

Six voted for expansion immediately after his depar-

ture. The EC accepted all four applications, but

Norwegians rejected membership in a national referen-

dum (53–47 percent), so the Six became the Nine. The

British, whose relations with Europe had been troubled

for a generation, reconsidered their membership and

demanded new terms for entry into the EC. They

joined in 1973, but domestic opinion still demanded

concessions; after winning some agreements, the British

supported membership in a national referendum in

1975. Most of non-Communist Europe then began to
      line up for entry into the European Community.

DOCUMENT 31.4

The United Nations Declaration

Against Colonialism (1960)

The General Assembly, mindful of the determination pro-

claimed by the peoples of the world in the Charter of the

United Nations to reaffirm faith in fundamental human

rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in

the equal rights of men and women and of nations large

and small, and to promote social progress and better stan-

dards of life in larger freedom... declares that:

1. The subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domi-
   nation, and exploitation constitutes a denial of funda-
   mental human rights, is contrary to the Charter of the
   United Nations and is an impediment to the promo-
   tion of world peace and cooperation.
   2. All peoples have the right to self-determination; by
   virtue of that right they freely determine their political
   status and freely pursue their economic, social, and cul-
   tural development.
   3. Inadequacy of political, economic, social or educa-
   tional preparedness should never serve as a pretext for
   delaying independence.
   4. All armed action or repressive measures of all kinds
   directed against dependent peoples shall cease in or-
   der to enable them to exercise peacefully and freely
   their right to complete independence.
   United Nations. Official Records of the General Assembly.December
   14, 1960. Resolution 1514. New York: United Nations.