TNAG-0281-FCO40-317-Visit-of-the-Chancellor-of-the-Duchy-of-Lancaster-to-Hong-Ko-1970 — Page 154

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10.

All this has been true for centuries,

but in the past 25 years there have been

two major developments which have brought

Britain inexorably closer to her continental

neighbours. First, european countries

the big ones are for the first time

dwarfed, politically and economically,

even

by other powers. Since 1945 the Soviet Union

has at least realised a political and

military potential which is more than a

match for the Europeans. The United States

of America, the great and irreplaceable

friend of your country and mine, is so

powerful economically that she will

inevitably take over European industry

piecemeal unless we Europeans can create a

within

framework/wii ch our industries can work

Other

together and pool their resources.

countries are also emerging which will

probably soon be more powerful in economic

terms than any single European country.

Japan is already in that class. So

there is among Europeans now a tremendous need

for, and a tremendous urge towards

greater political and economic unity.

The European Communities have already

shown that they can to some extent protect

the interests of their members by the

/practice