Commonwealth Office: Common Market Department: Registered Files (EC Series)

FCO 20

1967-1968

This series contains the records of the Common Market Department relating to United Kingdom and Commonwealth relations and the application by the United Kingdom to join the European Economic Community.

By former file reference

For earlier Commonwealth Relations Office records relating to the first application to join the European Economic Community see DO 159

EC file series

Public Record(s)

English

102 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure

From 1999 Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Topics

International

Trade and commerce

During the United Kingdom's first, unsuccessful application to join the European Economic Community, a separate Common Market Department had been established in the Commonwealth Relations Office to consider policy matters affecting other Commonwealth states should the United Kingdom have joined.

The same pattern was followed in the Commonwealth Office when the United Kingdom renewed its application in 1967, and a second Common Market Department was established. This remained in place until the formation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in October 1968, when responsibility for Commonwealth relations and the Community passed to the European Economic Integration Department, formed from the respective Commonwealth Office and Foreign Office departments which had previously been dealing with the issue in tandem.