In 1955 a Conservative government led by Anthony Eden took the catastrophic decision of opting out of the European Community at its inception, impulsively and without really thinking about it. Britain then spent years desperately trying to join in the face of repeated rebuffs and eventually gained admission only in 1972. By that time it was too late to influence the shape that Europe took and we have felt an uncomfortable member of it ever since.
1955年,在歐洲經(jīng)濟共同體問世之初,安東尼?艾登(Anthony Eden)領導的保守黨政府沒有經(jīng)過深思熟慮,沖動地作出了置身其外的災難性決定。在那之后,英國用了多年時間,拼命想加入其中,卻屢遭拒絕,最后直到1972年才被接納。但那個時候已經(jīng)太晚了,英國已無法對歐洲的格局產(chǎn)生分毫影響。從那以后,我們始終覺得自己在歐洲內(nèi)是個身份尷尬的成員。