The Treaty of Accession 1972 was the international agreement which provided for the accession of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

to the

European Communities The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the ...

. Norway did not ratify the treaty after it was rejected in a referendum held in September 1972. The treaty was ratified by Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom who became EC member states on 1 January 1973 when the treaty entered into force. The treaty remains an integral part of the constitutional basis of the European Union. On the 31 January 2020 the United Kingdom left the European Union after 47 years of membership after a referendum was held in 2016 which saw 51.9% of voters wish to leave the bloc, and is now no longer legally bound by the treaty.

Full title

The full official name of the treaty is:

Context

and the

were already economically linked within the

European Free Trade Association The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerlan ...

. The UK's role in international affairs had weakened, unlike the EC member countries, which in the 1960s were strongly recovering from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

; Ireland remained economically dependent on the UK, which represented nearly 75% of its exports and sought to reduce this dependence. To join the EC, countries had to meet two criteria: belonging to the European continent and obtain agreement from all member countries. On 31 July 1961 the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark applied to join the EC. In 1963, after lengthy negotiations, France vetoed Britain's application because of the aversion of

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

to the UK, which he considered a "Trojan Horse" for the United States. De Gaulle famously uttered the single word 'non' into the television cameras at the critical moment, a statement used to sum up French opposition towards the UK for many years afterwards.Richards, Denis & Quick, Antony (1974) ''Twentieth Century Britain'' UK Prime Minister

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986) was a British Conservative statesman and politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Caricatured as "Supermac", he ...

said afterwards that he always believed that de Gaulle would prevent the UK joining, but thought he would do it quietly, behind the scenes. He later complained privately that "all our plans are in tatters".Holland, Robert (1991) ''Fontana History of England – Britain & the World Role''

Enlargement

France, under de Gaulle's successor

Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...

, removed its opposition following the 1969 Hague EEC summit conference. This made the expansion of membership possible, providing for political convergence between the EEC and EFTA. After a long period of negotiations, expansion of the EC's membership was ratified by the member states' national parliaments, except in the case of France, where in April 1972 a referendum on EC enlargement was passed with a favorable vote of 68%. Between May and October 1972, the treaty was passed in three EFTA states; in Ireland on 10 May 1972, with 81.3% of the vote; in the UK by the Houses of Parliament; and in Denmark with 63.3% of votes; the Danish Constitution stipulates that any change in its national sovereignty must be submitted to the public in the form of a referendum. In Norway's referendum however, 53.5% of voters opposed the country's accession, and Prime Minister

Trygve Bratteli (11 January 1910 – 20 November 1984) was a Norwegian newspaper editor and politician with the Norwegian Labour Party. He served as the 26th prime minister of Norway from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1973 to 1976. He was president of the No ...

resigned following the defeat of his government. It was the second attempt by Norway to become a member, after being rejected by France in 1962 and again temporarily in 1967, but the first attempt at a referendum following a successful negotiation. The United Kingdom consulted its citizens directly only after joining the European Communities: following the British general election of October 1974, the Labour government of

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

held a referendum to fulfill one of its campaign promises. The non-binding referendum was held on 5 June 1975, some two and half years after the UK's accession. It was the first ever national referendum to be held in the UK, and the "yes" vote won by a landslide 67.23% on a 65% turnout with 66 out of the 68 local counting areas returning majority "yes" votes.

Legal consequences

One fundamental change effected by the treaty is stated in Article 3(3) of the accompanying "Act concerning the Conditions of Accession and the Adjustments to the Treaties" where the new members agree they will, regarding original Member States and Communities agreements, "observe the principles and guidelines deriving from those declarations, resolutions or other positions and will take such measures as may be necessary to ensure their implementation". Article 4 continues the list of agreements they undertake, and in 4(4) they agree to adjust their international agreements "to the rights and obligations arising from their accession to the Communities".

References

External links