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A Flight of Fantasy? Portugal and the First Attempt to Enlarge the European Economic Community, 1961–1963

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2007

NICOLAU ANDRESEN LEITÃO
NICOLAU ANDRESEN LEITÃO*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Professor Aníbal de Bettencourt, 9, 1600-189 Lisbon, Portugal; [email protected].
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Abstract

This article explains the position of Portugal during the first attempt to enlarge the European Economic Community in 1961–3. It first makes clear the motives behind the Portuguese government's policy option in favour of EEC associate membership and future entry. Next, it analyses the attitude of the EEC members and Portugal's EFTA partners to this policy option. The article concludes that such a policy was condemned to failure, due to the authoritarian nature of the Portuguese regime and the country's colonial policy, and that, had the negotiations progressed, Lisbon would probably have had to opt in favour of a provisional agreement.

Type
Research Article
Information
Contemporary European History , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , February 2007 , pp. 71 - 87
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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References

1 See in particular Griffiths, Richard T. and Ward, Stuart, eds., Courting the Common Market: The First Attempt to Enlarge the European Community 1961–1963 (London: Lothian Foundation Press, 1996)Google Scholar; Ludlow, N. Piers, Dealing with Britain: The Six and the First UK Application to the EEC (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997)Google Scholar; Wilkes, George, ed., Britain's Failure to enter the European Community 1961–1963 (London: Frank Cass, 1997)Google Scholar; Deighton, Anne and Milward, Alan S., eds., The European Community 1954–63: Deepening, Widening, Enlargement (Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1999)Google Scholar; Milward, Alan S., The UK and the European Community, I: The Rise and Fall of a National Strategy, 1945–1963 (London and Portland, OR: Frank Cass, 2002)Google Scholar.

2 For a digest of Salazar's views on European integration see Maria Fernanda Rollo, ‘Salazar e a construção europeia’, Penélope, 18 (1997), 51–76. For overviews on Portugal and European integration see Nicolau Andresen Leitão, ‘Portugal's European Integration Policy 1947–1972’, Journal of European Integration History, 7, 1 (2000), 25–35; António Costa Pinto and Nuno Severiano Teixeira, ‘From Africa to Europe: Portugal and European Integration’, in Pinto, Costa and Teixeira, Severiano, eds., Southern Europe and the Makings of the European Union, 1945–1980s (Boulder: Social Sciences Monographs, 2002), 3–40Google Scholar; António Costa Pinto and Nuno Severiano Teixeira, ‘From Atlantic past to European destiny’, in Kaiser, Wolfram and Elvert, Jurgen, eds., European Union Enlargement (London and New York: Routledge, 2004), 112Google Scholar–30; Nicolau Andresen Leitão, ‘Um Jogador Europeu. O Estado Novo e a CEE, 1957–1974’, Relações Internacionais, 6 (2005), 107–18 (with the exception of this last article, all fail to refer to the fact that in 1970 Portugal again attempted to negotiate an association agreement with the Common Market, opting for a trade agreement after the Six made plain their opposition to this policy option, due to the authoritarian nature of the Portuguese regime and in particular its continued colonial policy). For a survey of the literature see Nicolau Andresen Leitão, ‘The Reluctant European. A survey of the literature on Portugal and European integration 1947–1974’, e-journal of Portuguese History, 3, 1 (2005), 1–12.

3 EFTA, Building EFTA, a Free Trade Area in Europe (Geneva: EFTA, 1966), 21–6; Diário das Sessões, N°170, 22–23 April 1960, 738.

4 Archivo Nacional Torre do Tombo (ANTT), AOS/CO/EC-30, Pt. 2: Portuguese Delegation Memorandum, Annex to EFTA 82/61, 5 June 1961, 38–42; Sérgio Rodrigues, ‘Le Portugal face à la construction européenne, 1960–1974. L'amorce d'une conscience continentale’, Ph.D. thesis, Université de Paris I Pantheon-Sorbonne, 2002, 97.

5 In Portuguese the full title was ‘Ministro de Estado Adjunto do Presidente do Conselho’; for the sake of brevity this has been given as ‘presidency minister’.

6 ANTT, AOS/CO/EC-30, Pt. 2: Telegram Corrêa d'Oliveira, 29 June 1961; Rodrigues, ‘L'amorce’, 99, 108. All quotations have been translated by the author.

7 Art. 238 of the Treaty of Rome reads, ‘the Community may conclude with one or more States or international organisations agreements establishing an association involving reciprocal rights and obligations, common action and special procedures’.

8 Telegram, Sir J. Walker, 21 Oct. 1962, FO (Foreign Office Records) 371/164721, The National Archives, London (hereafter NA). Diário de Lisboa, 4 Aug. 1961, 1, 3; Diário de Notícias, 12 Sept. 1961, 2; Diário de Notícias, 5 June 1962, 1–2.

9 National Archives (NA), EFTA 36th Meeting at the Ministerial level, 20–21 Nov. 1961, FO 371/158243; Sir E. Cohen, 21 Nov. 1961, FO 371/158243; Sir E. Cohen, 6 Jan. 1962, FO 371/164735.

10 Silva Lopes was the senior Portuguese trade expert from the time of the 1959 EFTA negotiations to the 1972 EEC trade agreement.

11 Interviews with J. M. Passeiro, Estoril, 1 Feb. 2002 and 20 March 2002. British sources quoted by Rodrigues place the government decision as prior to 23 Feb. 1962, Rodrigues, ‘L'amorce’, 128.

12 The motives for Spain seeking negotiations were remarkably similar, as Guirao points out – ‘The Spanish decision to seek an arrangement with the EEC did not come out of conviction of future benefit, but from the necessity of avoiding the disadvantage of trade discrimination. It represented more the desire for continuity than for change’. Fernando Guirao, ‘“Solvitur ambulando”: The Place of the EEC in Spain's Foreign Economic Policy, 1957–1962’, in Deighton and Milward, Deepening, Widening, Enlargement, 358.

13 J. M. Passeiro private papers: Relatório sobre as negociações com a CEE (unsigned), undated (March 1962), I-3/I-4.

14 Ibid., II-1/II-2.

15 Ibid., IV-2/IV-3.

16 NA, Sir Robin Barclay, 22 June 1962, FO 371/164716.

17 Greece was the first country to sign an association agreement with the Common Market (Treaty of Athens, 9 July 1961). The agreement made explicit reference to full membership at a later date. NA, EFTA/C.SR 18/62, 12th Meeting at Ministerial Level, 21–2 June 1962, FO 371/164741.

18 ‘Record of Conversation with Dr. Corrêa de Oliveira, Portuguese Minister of State’, 21 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164722; Telegram Sir J. Walker, 21 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164721; interview with Figueira, 21 Jan. 2003; interview with Adriano Moreira, Lisbon, 22 Jan. 2004.

19 The only ‘colonies’ that are part of the Community are the French départements d'outre-mer (DOMs). Their small size and the fact that they possess limited rights within the Community do not make them comparable with the Portuguese colonies. The EEC would also turn down the application of countries outside the European perimeter.

20 NA, Telegram British delegation to the Brussels Conference, 9 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164719; Telegram British delegation to the Brussels Conference, 9 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164722; Portugal and the EEC, 20 Nov. 1962, FO 371/164725.

21 The political motives behind Spain's application for negotiations were similar, ‘Maintenance of economic growth, the goal desperately pursued by the Spanish political regime, imposed the choice. The terms of the official request of February 1962 reflect the demands of the politics of stabilisation . . . that were considered necessary to provide growth with minimal social and political turmoil.’ Guirao, ‘Solvitur’, 358.

22 NA, Record, EFTA Consultative Committee, 9–10 May 1962, FO 371/158237.

23 Arquivo Histórico-Diplomtico – Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros (AHD-MNE), Mercado Comum, EOI 210: Telegram Salazar 19 April 1962.

24 Ibid.: Lobão de Carvalho, 16 Jan. 1963.

25 On 8 April 1962, the Diário de Notícias would headline, ‘the acceptance of Portugal as a member of GATT is regarded as international recognition of the political unity of the Portuguese territories’.

26 Eriksen, Knut Einar and Pharo, Helge O., ‘The Common Market issue in Norway, 1961–1963’, in Griffiths, and Ward, , Courting the Common Market, 237Google Scholar.

27 Interview with Figueira, 21 Jan. 2003; Marcelo Caetano private papers: Letter from the Portuguese ambassador to Belgium – Eduardo Brazão, 29 Sept. 1967.

28 The state-owned newspaper, Diário de Notícias, spells out clearly that the Portuguese government wanted to implement the Portuguese Single Market and negotiate GATT membership prior to seeking negotiations and that this was the reason for the delay in seeking negotiations. Diário de Notícias, 5 Jan. 1962, 1–2; AHD-MNE, Lisbon, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Telegram Calvet Magalhães, 1 June 1962; interview with Figueira, 21 Jan. 2003; Passeiro, Relatório, IV-4/IV-5; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 210: MNE, 7 Dec. 1962; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 210: Telegram Portuguese Embassador to Belgium – Vieira Leitão, 30 Nov. 1962; Telegram UK Embassy to Portugal, 2 April 1962, FO 371/164705; International Herald Tribune 29 March 1962; Dirio de Notícias, 8 April 1962, 1,5.

29 For GATT to recognise EFTA, all member countries had to be part of the agreement.

30 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 28 March 1962; ibid.: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 3 Sept. 1962; The Daily News, 9 Aug. 1962; AHD-MNE, EOI 682: Corrêa d'Oliveira, 9 Jan. 1969.

31 Opening statements: Norway, 4 July 1962; Austria and Sweden, 28 July 1962; Switzerland, 24 Sept. 1962. Stuart Ward, ‘United House or Abandoned Ship? EFTA and the EEC Membership Crisis, 1961–1963’, in Griffiths and Ward, Courting the Common Market, 209; Maroc Information: Press release from the EEC Council of ministers, 22–3 Dec. 1962; The Times, 5 June 1962; NA, Telegram UK Delegation to the Brussels Conference, 9 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164719.

32 NA, Report of Mr. Birkelbach and the debate in the European Parliament on the political and institutional aspects of membership and association, 30 Jan. 1962, FO 371/16470; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 28 March 1962.

33 On 28 February 1962, Corrêa d'Oliveira would write that ‘the acceptance of the political and economic objectives of the European Economic Community appear to be . . . a sine qua non condition for successful negotiations'. AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 210: Telegram Corrêa d'Oliveira, 28 Feb. 1962.

34 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 205: Albano Nogueira, 29 March 1962; Sun (Sidney), 6 June 1962; NA, UK Delegation to the Brussels Conference – Barclay, 3 May 1962, FO 371/164709; NA, Conversation JE Galsworthy with de Schacht, 8 June 1962, FO 371/164744.

35 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 16 April 1962, Telegram Vieira Leitão, 27 June1962, Telegram from Salazar, 19 April 1962; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 196, PT. 10b: Portuguese ambassador to UK – Rocheta 15 Aug. 1962; EOI 196, PT. 11a: MNE 29 June 1962; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 214: Discussion of Application of Article 234 of the Rome Treaty, 11 Dec. 1962; NA, UK Delegation – Barclay, 3 May 1962, FO 371/164709.

36 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Portuguese Embassador to the Netherlands – Ferreira Fonseca, 30 May 1962 and 4 June 1962; EOI 210: MNE, 11 June 1962; EOI 195: Ferreira Fonseca, 13 June 1962 and 15 June 1962; EOI 195: Rapport de l'application de la CEE (L’Éspagne et le Portugal), débats dans la Chambre des Députés 13–14 June1962; EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 27 June 1962; EOI 195: Ferreira Fonseca, 28 June 1962; EOI 210: Telegram Ferreira Fonseca, 6 Oct. 1962; EOI 210: Ferreira Fonseca, 6 Oct. 1962 and 19 Nov. 1962; NA, Telegram UK Embassy to the Netherlands, 25 May 1962, FO 371/164711.

37 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: MNE, 13 April 1962; EOI 210: MNE, 17 April 1962; EOI 210: MNE, 19 April 1962; EOI 210: MNE, 15 May 62; EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 18 May 1962 and 6 July 1962; La Libre Bélgique 2 July 1963; NA, UK Delegation to the Brussels Conference – Barclay, 3 May 1962, FO 371/164709; Telegram UK Embassy to Belgium, 22 May 1962, FO 371/164709; Telegram UK Embassy to Luxembourg, 25 May 1962, FO 371/16411.

38 NA, UK Delegation to the Brussels Conference – Barclay, 3 May 1962, FO 371/164709; Telegram UK Embassy to Italy, 25 May 1962, FO 371/16411; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal, M212: Portuguese ambassador to Italy – Eduardo Brazão, 7 Aug. 1961; EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 3 Sept. 1962; EOI 210, Pt. 11a: Brazão, 27 Sept. 1962; EOI 207 Pt.a: Portuguese ambassador to Italy – Lobão de Carvalho, 18 Dec. 1962; EOI 207 Pt.a: Telegram Lobão de Carvalho, 22 Nov. 1962; Rodrigues, ‘L'amorce’, 162.

39 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 25 July 1963

40 Presidência do Conselho de Ministros (PCM), Lisbon, Estado Novo, CMCE, PRC 115: MNE, 22 July 1957.

41 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Telegram Portuguese ambassador to Norway – Xara Brasil, 5 Nov. 1962; ibid.: Pt. 11c: Xara Brasil, 5 Nov. 1962.

42 The warning was made by Muller-Armack, senior official of the West German ministry of the economy, to Corrêa d'Oliveira. Ibid.: MNE, 28 Feb. 1962.

43 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 445: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 31 Aug. 1966.

44 In April 1962, Couve, when questioned about Portugal, was reported to have said, ‘it is not worth thinking about’. NA, Sharman, 16 April 1962, FO 371/164707.

45 ‘L'amorce’, Rodrigues, 74, 204; Franco Nogueira, Salazar: A resistência (1958–1964), Volume V (Porto: Livraria Civilização, 1984), 232–3Google Scholar; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 196: UK Aide-Mémoire, undated (10 May 1961); EOI 199: CTCEE, 11 May 1961; EOI 210: Telegram Portuguese ambassador to France – Marcelo Mathias, 25 May 1962; EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 2 June 1962; EOI 210: Telegram Lobão de Carvalho, 22 Nov. 1962; NA, Telegram UK Embassy to France, 5 June 1962, FO 371/164710; Portugal and the EEC, 18 Nov. 1962, FO 371/164725; Guardian, 1 Feb. 1963.

46 NA, Telegram UK Embassy to Norway, 24 May 1962, FO 371/164711; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 209: Xara Brasil, 2 Nov. 1962; EOI 210: Telegram Xara Brasil, 5 Nov. 1962; NA, Telegram UK Embassy to Austria, 23 May 1962, FO 371/164711; Telegram UK Embassy to Denmark, 30 May 1962, FO 371/164711; Telegram UK Embassy to Sweden, 11 June 1962, FO 371/164711; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 210: Telegram Vieira Leitão, 25 July 1963.

47 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 200: Telegram from Portuguese ambassador to Switzerland – Teixeira Guerra, 7 Aug. 1961.

48 NA, Portugal and the EEC – Richardson, 18 Dec. 1962, FO 371/164725.

49 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 210: Telegram Salazar, 19 April 1962.

50 NA, Call by the Portuguese minister of finance on the lord privy seal on September 4 [1962], FO 371/164718; Ross, 12 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164718; ‘Record of Conversation’, 21 Oct. 1962, FO 371/164722; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 214: Discussion of Application of Article 234 of the Rome Treaty, 11 Dec. 1962; NA, Ross, 31 Dec. 1962, FO 371/164718.

51 During the negotiations in Brussels, the British had accepted abandoning their preference system at the behest of the Common Market, although the timescale of this abandonment was disputed. NA, Portugal and the EEC –Richardson, 18 Dec. 1962, FO 371/164725.

52 Ibid.

53 Ibid.

54 NA, Portugal and the Common Market – Sir Patrick Reilly, 10 April 1962, FO 371/164709; AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, Portugal 1961/64, EOI 207: Rocheta, 25 July 1962; EOI 207: Portuguese ambassador to USA – Theotónio Pereira, 20 Sept. 1962.

55 NA, Telegram FO to UK Embassy to Portugal, 30 March 1962, FO 371/164739; UK Delegation to the Brussels Conference – Barclay, 3 May 1962, FO 371/164709; Ross, 22 May 1962, FO 371/164711; Ross, 17 July 1962, FO 371/164716; Gallagher, 28 Sept. 1962, FO 371/164719; Portugal and the EEC – Richardson, 18 Dec. 1962, FO 371/164725.

56 Interview with Figueira, 21 Jan. 2003; NA, Telegram Ross, 12 April 1962, FO 371/16476; Passeiro, Relatório.

57 AHD-MNE, Mercado Comum, EOI 210, PT 7a: Discussion of Application of Article 234 of the Rome Treaty, 11 Dec. 1962.

58 Ludlow, Dealing with Britain, 105–6.