The WEU::A Europe of the Seven, 1954-1969

The history of the Western European Union after 1954–1955 is still a terra incognita. This article examines the function of the Western European Union in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture of the Cold War up to the 1960s. The paper studies the prime shifts of the tectonic plates forming the Western partial system of the bipolar Cold War system – and their systemic repercussions. The relationship between the Western umbrella organisation, NATO, and its European subsystem is analysed in four case studies: (1) the Arms Pool Negotiations of 1955; (2) Selwyn Lloyd's Grand Design of 1956–1957; (3) the wider Political European Union agenda of 1960–1962 and (4) the Western European Union nuclear force project of 1963.