Wilton Park as a Site of European Debate from the 1940s to the 1980s

The chapter explores the wider context of several key moments in Wilton Park’s history when its role as a site of European debate was central to its survival as an institution. The discussions about European integration were an important symbolic representation of the UK’s commitment to the EC. Central in this effort was the establishment of the European Discussion Centre (EDC) in the 1970s which eventually merged with Wilton Park. Indeed, Wilton Park’s role as a site of European debate became a key reason for the institution’s continued existence. When the closure of Wilton Park was again considered in 1981, the FCO’s European integration department argued that such a decision would have a damaging effect on the UK’s credibility with its partners in Europe. Wilton Park was crucial to the government’s effort to explain the British point of view to opinion formers in other EC countries. Wilton Park was not simply a place where key developments in UK-EC relations were discussed, it was a forum where governments sought to influence perceptions of the UK as an EC member state.