The troubled path of the United Kingdom's accession to the European Economic Community in the 1960s has been vigorously researched by political and economic historians. The major economic obstacles revolved around how the common external tariff would affect Britain's trade with the Commonwealth and the impact on British producers. Other challenges included fisheries policy, budget contributions and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The monetary institutions of the EEC were in the process of development during the years when Britain sought unsuccessfully to join, but progress was slow and uneven because of the lack of consensus within the original six members (West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg). Nevertheless, although it was trade that overwhelmed the negotiations, the issue of sterling as an international currency did emerge as an important symbol of the distinctive character of Britain's relations with the rest of the world, complicating its transformation to EEC membership.

The issue of sterling has been a major theme in the United Kingdom's relations with Europe. It can even be argued that the exchange rate regime between sterling and the European currencies has become the defining feature of Britain's attitude to Europe, since fixing sterling into a European system of stable exchange rates in an environment of open capital markets requires the erosion of British policy sovereignty. Sterling policy is therefore fundamental to Britain's commitment to the European integration project.