Roy Jenkins was not just the first British president of the European Commission. Barring the improbable, he will go down in history as the only Briton who ever held the office.

With few exceptions, the United Kingdom has sent politicians of considerable caliber to Brussels. Surprisingly for a country that defends its national interests with terrier-like determination, those commissioners have mostly honored their obligation under the EU Treaties to serve the European Union (EU) and not the national interest. Roy Jenkins was no exception. Some other EU member-states have, instead, regarded their commissioner as the principal defender of their national interests. The Brussels institutional relationships (between the Council of Ministers representing the member governments, the Commission, with its unique right and duty of legislative initiative, and the European Parliament) can make a hornet's nest seem tranquil. That was the world Jenkins chose to enter after a career at the top...

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