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After more than ten years of negotiating, in 1973 the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC) – also known as the Common Market. The Daily Mail described the EEC as “a free association of nations drawn together by a common will to bury the sword”. Joining the founder members Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, the UK became a member on 1 January 1973 alongside Denmark and Ireland.
THE UK JOINS THE EEC