EN
Harold Macmillan became the Prime Minister of Great Britain in the early 1957 as a result of the Suez Crisis. He served in offi ce until 1963. In 1961, he submitted an application for United Kingdom’s membership in the European Economic Community. Intended to be a departure from the current policy of the country in terms of European integration, this step nevertheless did not earn Macmillan the name of a European. Many doubted the sincerity of the decision. However, the beginnings of Macmillan’s European involvement were more than promising. A relatively short stay in the role of a representative of the UK in the Assembly of the Council of Europe between 1949 and 1951, i.e., during the fi rst period of its activity, held a special place in his political career. Apart from organisational matters, the main issues debated at the time included the Schuman Plan, the project of a European army, the inclusion of Germany to the Western system, the situation in Eastern Europe under Soviet control, the future of the Council of Europe and the possibility of building a European federation.