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This article will attempt to draw attention to the Anglo-French nuclear weapons negotiations that ran alongside the British applications to join the EEC during the years 1960-1974. It suggests that the prospect of an entente nucléaire was an issue that played a unique role in the UK's negotiating strategy. It will argue that three successive Prime Minister's - Macmillan, Wilson and Heath - attempted to forge an agreement in the hope of overcoming French objections to Britain's entry, albeit for different reasons. All three were hampered by the "special nuclear relationship" with the Americans and this eventually precluded a mutually beneficial resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British and French held divergent views from the late 1940s on relations with the United States and on the development of European integration. Differences between the two countries caused particular strain once General Charles de Gaulle returned to power in 1958. The clash that ensued between British and French policies towards the Atlantic Alliance and Europe during his presidency is the subject of this article. It suggests that while the British were unable to overcome de Gaulle's resistance to their membership of the EEC, Britain's fortunes in Europe were nevertheless improved by the Wilson government's response to de Gaulle's actions in the Atlantic Alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]