Journal of European Integration History – Revue d'histoire de l'

86Dermot KeoghWhitaker had won the support of Lemass who was not an easy or enthusiastic convertto a free trade policy.Both men were enthusiastically supported by the Irish Council of the EuropeanMovement (ICEM), which included among its active and influential membershipthe future foreign minister and Taoiseach, Dr Garret FitzGerald. 26 Domestic pressuremounted to join the EEC as Lemass revealed on 13 October 1962 in a conversationwith the French Foreign Minister, Couve de Murville, on 13 October 1962:“In this connection, he [Lemass] recalled the existence already in 1960 of some pressureon the Government by economic interests to join the Six, adding that it becamequite clear from the way in which Mr [R.] Maudling [Minister who had managed theFree Trade area talks] 27 reacted to a reference to this fact, during discussions in Londonin February of that year, that such a move on our part would be interpreted bythe British in a way which would have had serious repercussions on our trade relationswith them.” 28There was great surprise in Dublin, therefore, when it was rumoured in early1961 that Britain might apply for full EEC membership. Dublin now had no choicebut to seek full membership. Britain influenced the timing of the Irish decision. Theideological battle to opt for free trade had been long since won.Ireland's applications for membership, July 1961 – January 1962The Irish government decided, following the submission of its letter of applicationto join the EEC on 31 July, to send an explanatory aide memoire to each of the governmentsof the Six. 29 Drafted by Cremin, it concentrated very much on the economicdimension of the Irish application. This tactic resulted only in confusing andcomplicating the Irish position and Irish diplomats had to be told by Lemass on 14August to state that the aide memoire was not part of the Irish application. ProfessorLudwig Erhard, the German Vice-Chancellor, Minister for Economics andPresident of the EEC Council, had sent a query to Dublin as to whether the aidememoire formed part of Ireland's formal application. 30 Lemass replied in the nega-26. See M. HEDERMAN O'BRIEN, The Road to Europe – Irish Attitudes 1948-61, Dublin 1983, pp.103-111.27. A. DEIGHTON and P. LUDLOW, “The First British Application to the EEC” in A. DEIGHTONand P. LUDLOW (eds.), Building Postwar Europe, p. 111.28. Con Cremin, draft minute, 5 November 1962, Department of the Taoiseach (cited henceforth D/T),S17246 S/62, NAI; This exchange occurred during talks in London which ended with the signing ofa trade agreement in 1960. [This was replaced by the Anglo-Irish Free Trade Area Agreement whichwas signed on 14 December 1965.]29. A white paper on Ireland and the EEC was published in early July.30. Subsequently, Irish officials were to feel that the absence of any reference to the country's commitmentto the political dimension of the EEC had been a mistake which they were obliged to correctthroughout the latter part of 1961. See D. J. MAHER, The Tortuous Path, pp. 136-137.