Churchill's Views on Europe
Churchill called for a 'United States of Europe' -- but did he mean Britain should be part of it? The origins of a debate that still divides the UK.
The Zurich Speech (1946)
On September 19, 1946, just six months after his Iron Curtain speech, Churchill delivered another landmark address, this time at the University of Zurich. He called for nothing less than a 'United States of Europe' -- a bold vision for a continent that lay in ruins.
Churchill argued that European unity, built on a partnership between France and Germany, was the only way to prevent another catastrophic war. 'We must build a kind of United States of Europe,' he declared. 'The first step in the re-creation of the European family must be a partnership between France and Germany.' This was a remarkable statement just one year after the most destructive war in history, in which Germany had occupied France for four years.
Churchill's speech electrified European federalists and is still invoked by supporters of European integration. He became the honorary chairman of the Congress of Europe held in The Hague in 1948, which laid groundwork for the Council of Europe and, eventually, the European Economic Community.