Word: bonne
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Kosygin's visit to Britain, marked by Wilson's lavish praise and the British public's acclaim for the Soviet leader, provided just about the worst possible prelude for the British visit to Bonn. It raised West German fears that Britain seeks to build a special relationship with the Soviet Union that might well, considering Russia's implacable hostility toward Bonn, be accomplished at West Germany's expense. Wilson might have postponed either visit, but he chose to put them end to end. The Germans did not appreciate the timing...
...British departure for Bonn, George Brown touched one of West Germany's tautest nerves by answering "Yes, in a way" to a question about whether the Kosygin-Wilson declaration to respect present borders in Europe meant that Britain had decided to recognize the Oder-Neisse line as Germany's eastern border. The West Germans insist, of course, that only a full-scale peace conference can decide Germany's eventual boundaries. Though both Brown and Wilson later in effect apologized and reaffirmed their support of the German view, the gaffe set an unfortunate tone for the talks...
...While Wilson was in Bonn attempting to reassure the Germans that the pound was strong and that Britain would have no major difficulty adjusting to the Market's higher agricultural prices, one of his ranking ministers-Board of Trade President Douglas Jay -was cutting the ground out from under him by declaring in London that entry to the Market might well mean economic ruin for Britain, beginning with a rise in food prices, which would climb 14%. The contrast did not serve to convince the Germans of British sincerity, which is already in doubt in certain quarters...
...more financial support for the 53,000-man British Army of the Rhine than British Defense Secretary Denis Healey released a White Paper calling for large-scale cutbacks in both NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Europe. It was thus no surprise that at week's end Bonn indicated that it will not help pay for the upkeep of the Rhine army-a decision that almost inevitably will bring about a major British pullback...
Without the Common Market, as Wilson now realizes, Britain may really become a tiny island, cut off from the economic and political muscle of the Continent and thrown further into a Commonwealth that is deteriorating. Yet Wilson learned in Bonn that the job of getting in is going to be much tougher than he expected. While publicly endorsing British entry with polite correctness, the Germans do not intend to jeopardize their own relationship with De Gaulle by exerting any special pressure on Britain's behalf. Chancellor Kiesinger promised at week's end that he would outline Wilson...