ABSTRACT
There is little doubt that Britain’s application failed because of General de Gaulle’s political and commercial opposition to British membership. The British could not convince him to admit Britain because he sought a Europe free from Atlantic influence and led by the French.1 British attempts to elicit a change in de Gaulle’s bar to accession were twofold. First, Wilson did want to negotiate a deal with the General, an objective never likely to succeed. It derived from his political conception of the Community and was composed around the creation of technological and possibly defence links between Britain and the EEC. At the same time, Wilson aimed to persist in showing Britain’s sincerity, making it difficult for de Gaulle to issue a decisive rebuttal.
