Treaty of European Union-Maastricht

• Reference:GB 254 MS 420/15
• Dates of Creation:1987-1993
• Name of Creator:
  Sir William Nicoll
• Physical Description:
  1 folder

• Scope and Content

  Treaty of European Union (Maastricht) and Analysis 1992. Includes: Photocopied article from The independant on Sunday 'The European Union', October 1992 Report by Europa Institute 'Beyond the Intergovernmental Conferences: European Union in the 1990s, with annotations from Nicoll, 1991 Publication by British Management Data Foundation 'The Maastricht Treaty in Perspective' revised edition, December 1995 Book 'From Luxembourg to Maastricht: Institutional Change in the European Community After the Single European Act' by College of Europe, 1992 Book 'Europe and the Constitution after Maastricht' by Martin Howe, 1993 Book 'The Simple Guide to Maastricht' by Peter Luff, 1992 Article on EU cooperation on technology, 'Eureka', 1987 Draft of book chapter by Nicoll, 'The Maastricht Treaty Ratification Crisis' with annotations 'Salmon' titled 'Chapter Eleven: Attitudes of the Member States to European Integration and the Treaty on European Union' Essay by Nicoll 'Maasricht revisited: a Critical Analysis of the Treaty of European Union' Research note by Nicoll 'What Went Wrong with Maastricht?'

• Administrative / Biographical History

  Born in Dundee, Sir William Nicoll was an only child. Growing up in a tenement, his father was a joiner. He attended Morgan Academy, then won a scholarship to University College, Dundee, which was then part of the University of St Andrews.
  Nicoll passed the civil service exams and moved to London in 1949 to join the Board of Trade. Married Helen Morison in 1954, at the same time he became Editor of The Reel, a post he held in 1954 and 1955. The next year he was posted to Calcutta as trade commissioner, cutting short his editorship. Within ten years he had risen to become private secretary to Douglas Jay, the Labour heavyweight whom Harold Wilson had appointed president of the Board of Trade.
  From there Nicoll was seconded to the Foreign Office and served 20 years as one of the UK's senior men in Brussels. He became familiar with the French language and had a narrow escape from an IRA letter bomb while there.
  Nicoll rose to become Director General of the Council of the European Communities, and was knighted in 1992. In retirement, he lectured, edited the European Business Journal, wrote books on the European Union and advised candidate countries hoping to join it.
  Sir William was a lifelong teetotaller, and keen Scottish country dancer.

• Access Information

  Open for consultation subject to preservation requirements. Access must also conform to the restrictions of the Data Protection Act (2018), General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, 2018) and any other relevant legislation or restrictions. Clinical information is closed for 100 years.

• Note

  Born in Dundee, Sir William Nicoll was an only child. Growing up in a tenement, his father was a joiner. He attended Morgan Academy, then won a scholarship to University College, Dundee, which was then part of the University of St Andrews.
  Nicoll passed the civil service exams and moved to London in 1949 to join the Board of Trade. Married Helen Morison in 1954, at the same time he became Editor of The Reel, a post he held in 1954 and 1955. The next year he was posted to Calcutta as trade commissioner, cutting short his editorship. Within ten years he had risen to become private secretary to Douglas Jay, the Labour heavyweight whom Harold Wilson had appointed president of the Board of Trade.
  From there Nicoll was seconded to the Foreign Office and served 20 years as one of the UK's senior men in Brussels. He became familiar with the French language and had a narrow escape from an IRA letter bomb while there.
  Nicoll rose to become Director General of the Council of the European Communities, and was knighted in 1992. In retirement, he lectured, edited the European Business Journal, wrote books on the European Union and advised candidate countries hoping to join it.
  Sir William was a lifelong teetotaller, and keen Scottish country dancer.

• Archivist's Note

  Description compiled by Joy Naomi Ramsay, Archives Volunteer, 16/04/2018

• Conditions Governing Use

  Reproduction is available subject to preservation requirements. Charges may be made for this service, and copyright and other restrictions may apply; please check with the Duty Archivist.

• Accruals

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• Additional Information

  Published