We are going to study the Bruges speech and examine its influence on Britain’s relations with Europe and its impact on eurosceptism after the Speech and today. It is a speech delivered by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in September 1988 on the subject of Britain’s relations with Europe. It is important to put forward the fact that the Bruges Speech, written in 1988, was written in a period of dynamism concerning Europe: indeed this period is situated just after the signature of the Single European Act (1986) and just before the Maastricht Treaty (1992).
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