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

The Diplomacy of ‘dignified calm’ 93deemed to be satisfactory by senior Irish officials in Brussels. They were told, however,that the Council did not have sufficient information on the Irish case and ameeting on 11 May was suggested between Irish civil servants and the heads of thepermanent representation. 56Biggar also learned that things were going rather slowly with the British application,a position supported by the Irish Ambassador in London, Hugh McCann.The latter reported on 9 March on an interview with the British Minister for Agriculture,Christopher Soames who brought up the subject of the negotiations indirectly:“He went on to add, however, that it was clear from his talk with Mr Pisani, theFrench Minister of Agriculture, that the French had greedy eyes set on the big foodmarket in Britain. No doubt, the French would look on us as a source of competingagricultural surpluses and that they would probably wonder what they had to gainfrom our membership of the EEC.” 57The Irish Ambassador in Bonn reported his conversation with the German Secretaryof State in charge of Economic Affairs at the Foreign Office, Herr Lahr:“To my disappointment, Herr Lahr spoke along the same lines as he had done whenMessrs Whitaker and Cremin were here in September last. For instance, he repeatedhis thesis that it must still be decided what kind of connection – full membership orassociation – would really be in our interest.”Lahr, referring to the political aspects of the EEC, said that they had no doubtsabout the Irish attitude in world affairs and they knew our reasons for not joiningNATO. But he said that the Irish application had not been dealt with in any preciseexamination. He thought that, by the summer, the Irish government would be ableto get down to serious discussions. 58Dr Whitaker and other senior officials spent the first two weeks in April doingpreparatory work on the Irish case. Dublin received the list on the 18th fromAmbassador J.M. Boegner, head of the French Permanent Representation. On 4May 1962, the departmental secretaries met to review the final text of theanswers. 59 On the day of the delegation's departure, 10 May, Lemass gave anotherstrong pro-EEC speech to the Irish Management Institute. The press communiqué,issued after the exchanges in Brussels, gave very little information to the Irish publicon what had taken place in Brussels on 11 May. It merely recorded that underthe presidency of Ambassador J.M. Boegner the committee of Permanent Representativesof the Member States of the European Economic Community met, in thepresence of representatives of the Commission, with a delegation of senior Irishofficials led by Dr T.K. Whitaker, Secretary of the Department of Finance. Themeeting took place in “an atmosphere of frank cordiality and mutual understanding”.6056. Biggar to Cremin, 13 March 1962, D/T, S17246D/62, NAI.57. McCann to Cremin, 9 March 1962, D/T, S17246D/62, NAI.58. Irish Ambassador in Bonn to Cremin, 27 March 1962, D/T, S17246F/62, NAI.59. Meeting of Departmental secretaries, 4 May 1962, D/T, S17246G/62, NAI.60. Text of communiqué, 12 May 1962, D/T, S17246G/62, NAI.