Margaret Thatcher and the EU

In: Voprosy istorii: VI = Studies in history, Volume 2020, Issue 11-2, p. 154-168

Abstract

The article highlights the key points of Margaret Thatcher's activities in the context of relations with the European Community (later the European Union) as Prime Minister of Great Britain. The authors describe the stages of Thatcher's formation as a politician, the circumstances that shaped her relations with the leaders of France and Germany, and the prerequisites for reaching compromises in the economic and political spheres. The article analyzes Thatcher's position on the Single European act, as well as the reasons for the geopolitical miscalculation regarding the document's further role in European integration. The Prime Minister's opinion on the potential of forming European defense within the framework of the concept of intergovernmentalism and its place in the system of relations between the EU and the United States is studied.