W. Churchill’s contribution to the development of European integration processes

The article deals with the W. Churchill’s view on the European integration regarding his main political speeches, mainly in Zurich and in The Hague, his ideas about the League of Nations and the further United Nations. The author highlights the evolution of the politician's views on the concept of European integration based on the analysis of W. Churchill’s speeches. The interconnection of the new integration structure with the creation of the United Nations has been traced. The author analyses Winston Churchill's vision of European integration through the prism of the British foreign policy concept of ‘three majestic circles’. At the same time, it has been found that the politician's adherence to Britain's imperial position prevented him from objectively assessing the importance of the future organization. His participation in the process of uniting Europe in its early stages provides us with essential information about the original plans for the creation of a united Europe. His priority opinion was to see joint institutions only as forums, not as permanent bodies with clearly defined powers. In the article the main reasons for Winston Churchill's refusal to join the European Coal and Steel Community, but instead approving the initiative to create the European Free Trade Association, are revealed. It has been elucidated the official's position on the UK's participation in the Council of Europe and his views on the structure of the organization. It has been revealed that the politician's views on European integration were based primarily on national interests. Winston Churchill believed that the UK's participation in various regional organizations was possible only on the basis of cooperation, including trade, but not political integration. One of the key positions has been also given to the European collective security system, in which NATO was seen as the centre of the European defence system. The scientific novelty of the article consists in the systematic and comprehensive study of the evolution of W. Churchill's views on integration processes in Europe in the period after the Second World War.