European Movement UK

The European Movement UK is an independent pressure group in the United Kingdom which campaigns in support of greater European integration and for reform of the European Union. It is part of the European Movement International.

The current President of the European Movement UK is the Rt Hon Charles Kennedy MP and the current chairman is Petros Fassoulas. The organisation promotes a 'more democratic, effective and accountable' EU.

History

The origins of the European Movement lie in the aftermath of the Second World War. More than eight hundred delegates from across Europe gathered in The Hague in May 1948, under the chairmanship of Sir Winston Churchill, to create a new international movement to promote European unity and prevent further wars between its members. The British section of the European Movement was founded a year later.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the European Movement put forward the arguments for the United Kingdom joining the European Economic Community, and campaigned in support of membership in the 1970s. During the UK's European Communities membership referendum in 1975, the organisation was involved within the 'Yes' campaign.

Other campaigns since then have included pressing for direct elections to the European Parliament in the 1970s and promoting the benefits of the single market in the run-up to 1992.

See also

• Centre for European Reform
• British Influence

External links

• European Movement UK
  • European Movement in London
  • European Movement International
  • Young European Movement UK