Study of the bruges speech
First of all, we shall look at Thatcher’s vision of Europe and the role Great Britain is supposed to have in Europe according to her.
Here we are in fact dealing with thatcherism. According to Thatcher, Europe should not be restricted to the European Community “the dictates of some abstract intellectual concept” which is only a practical mean. Indeed, Europe has existed for a long time and for her the idea put forward by the signatories of the treaty of Rome it is not new. Therefore Europe should not be deemed as an institution but should rather be defined as a combination of each nation’s history. By using this vision of Europe and highlighting the importance of history, Thatcher insists on Britain’s specificity “But we British have in a very special way contributed to Europe”. Even though she bears in mind that Britain has benefited from the history of Europe, Thatcher believes that this relation is reciprocal. She illustrates her arguments by putting forward the example of the Magna Charter such as Britain’s involvement in the two world Wars. By doing this, she wishes to prove Britain’s commitment to Europe’s future but above all that Britain has a specific role in Europe. Britain has been a historical model and therefore Europe should copy Britain in the European construction. Margaret Thatcher sets out principles for the future of Europe which will be the key to its success. One key principle is