'We should have to contend with the ordinary Englishman's almost innate dislike and suspicion of "Europeans" ... Intensive re-education would be needed to bring this section of the public to realise that in the modern world even the United Kingdom cannot stand alone.' The words are those of a committee of civil servants convened to advise the Macmillan Government in 1960 on the pros and cons of joining the 'Six'. The paper has just been released under the thirty-year rule.

LRB 21 March 1991 | PDF Download