The European Foundation – A Brief History
The European Foundation was founded in 1993 in the wake of the Maastricht rebellion, arguably the watershed moment in Euroscepticism in the UK and Europe.
The European Foundation has been dedicated since 1993 to analysis of threats from European treaty or Act of Parliament to the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. The Foundation evolved out of the 17 Great College Street Group and the Maastricht Referendum Campaign, both founded by Sir Bill Cash MP as the organisational catalysts to the Maastricht rebellion.
The Maastricht Referendum Campaign, whose patrons included Margaret Thatcher, delivered a nationwide 500,000-signature petition to Parliament for a Referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. The 17 Great College Street Group meanwhile conducted their operations from that address through an extensive staff of researchers and activists preparing briefing papers for backbench MPs for the c.150 amendments put down by Bill Cash in his own name in opposition to the Maastricht Treaty. With 17 Great College Street itself only a stone’s throw from the House of Commons, throughout the proceedings on the Bill to implement the Maastricht Treaty, briefing papers were carried across to supply Members of Parliament with arguments to present to the House against the Maastricht Treaty Bill. The entire campaign attracted massive attention in the national media and persisted throughout the Bill proceedings. It was strongly supported by a dedicated band of Members of Parliament.
Since the Maastricht rebellion, the European Foundation has provided legal analysis of every European treaty for Parliamentarians, and comprehensive briefings and support for every major Eurosceptic amendment. The Foundation’s legal and constitutional analysis was the first of its kind, and has become a template for the Eurosceptic movement.
The European Foundation’s original hard copy publication “The European Journal” has been transformed into the European Foundation Website.
Notable members of the European Foundation have included Baroness Thatcher as patron, as well as former Members of the Cabinet, and leading businessmen, academics and QCs. The Chairman of the European Foundation is Sir Bill Cash MP.
The European Foundation – A Brief History
The European Foundation was founded in 1993 in the wake of the Maastricht rebellion, arguably the watershed moment in Euroscepticism in the UK and Europe.
The European Foundation has been dedicated since 1993 to analysis of threats from European treaty or Act of Parliament to the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. The Foundation evolved out of the 17 Great College Street Group and the Maastricht Referendum Campaign, both founded by Sir Bill Cash MP as the organisational catalysts to the Maastricht rebellion.
The Maastricht Referendum Campaign, whose patrons included Margaret Thatcher, delivered a nationwide 500,000-signature petition to Parliament for a Referendum on the Maastricht Treaty. The 17 Great College Street Group meanwhile conducted their operations from that address through an extensive staff of researchers and activists preparing briefing papers for backbench MPs for the c.150 amendments put down by Bill Cash in his own name in opposition to the Maastricht Treaty. With 17 Great College Street itself only a stone’s throw from the House of Commons, throughout the proceedings on the Bill to implement the Maastricht Treaty, briefing papers were carried across to supply Members of Parliament with arguments to present to the House against the Maastricht Treaty Bill. The entire campaign attracted massive attention in the national media and persisted throughout the Bill proceedings. It was strongly supported by a dedicated band of Members of Parliament.
Since the Maastricht rebellion, the European Foundation has provided legal analysis of every European treaty for Parliamentarians, and comprehensive briefings and support for every major Eurosceptic amendment. The Foundation’s legal and constitutional analysis was the first of its kind, and has become a template for the Eurosceptic movement.
The European Foundation’s original hard copy publication “The European Journal” has been transformed into the European Foundation Website.
Notable members of the European Foundation have included Baroness Thatcher as patron, as well as former Members of the Cabinet, and leading businessmen, academics and QCs. The Chairman of the European Foundation is Sir Bill Cash MP.