French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman

After the bloodshed and devastation of the ww2 the unity of Europe was needed more than ever people were broken and needed hope of a better world without hatred and war. Through the actions of a few brave statesmen, who include Winston Churchill, Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer and Alcide de Gasperi they came to set a goal, and that was for the unification of Europe. The aims were to achieve political goals through economic cooperation and to have the industries that were destroyed and countries bankrupted from ww2, thriving once again. In 1950 Robert Schuman, with an idea originally conceived by Jean Monnet proposed that a European Coal and Steel community to be established under a common high authority. After the Second World War tensions were high between The Soviet Union and the US, the capitalists led by the US the communists by the Soviet Union, a

The European Union (EU) is the organization which integrates the countries listed below, both politically and economically. It is a customs union, which is an agreement amongst a group of countries to eliminate trade barriers between them on the movement of goods, services, labor and capital, and also to establish a common external tariff on goods and services coming into the union. The EU evolved from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which was formed in 1951 as a response to the First and Second World Wars to try to ensure future peace in Europe. This became the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1965, which in turn became the European

World War II resulted in the deaths of over three percent of the 1939 population and saw unprecedented economic damage. Similar to World War I, there was strong European sentiment to prevent such a war from unfolding again, particularly due to the newfound fear associated with nuclear weapons and the extensive civilian toll the war caused. The chief problem with creating benevolent relations between nations was reconciling France and Germany. To ensure Germany could never threaten Europe again, Europe instituted the Monnet Plan, which dismantled German heavy industry and stripped Germany of its coal-producing regions. Germany was also divided into West Germany, which was controlled by Western Europe/NATO and East Germany, which was controlled by the Soviet Union.

The European Economic Community was an organization started in 1957 by France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg, in post War World II torn European. This organization was a union between the Steal and Coal Community and The European Atomic Energy Community. The goal of the organization, heavily influenced by John Monnet one of its founders and National Liberation Committee member at the time, was to build a stronger cohesive Europe through collaboration and economic ties to bring mutual prosperity. This organization and its ideals developed into the well know European Union of today, that currently sits with 28 members. However, one controversial possible membership has increased in importance over the years.

     After the tragedies of World War II, European leaders have made striving efforts to prevent such a catastrophic event from occurring on their continent again. The best solution seemed to be highly mechanized cooperation among the highest European powers to assure that future conflict, and perhaps war, could not arise between them. If all the states ran themselves in a manner cooperating with their neighbors, conflict could be avoided. To prevent other nations from not cooperating, treaties and institutions would have to be designed for each area of international interest such as trade, communications, security, and so forth. As the century progressed, more organizations, institutions and associations were

Europe was a politically and fragile continent after the Second World War that claimed millions of lives. It is in that background, that the first steps to European integration were taken with the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The celebrated Schuman Plan, laid the foundation for the first real supra-national economy in the world, that is, the ECSC. The European integration continued through the decades with the establishment of the European Economic Community (ECC) and the European Union (EU). In the recent period, the EU has come under intense questioning with the economic crisis in Europe starting 2007. The recent Brexit vote has put further questions on the future of the EU. This essay considers the process of European integration through the decades and also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the union.

The European Union as we know it is an economic union of countries which make their own policies concerning economies, societies, and law. Created in 1993, the European Union now contains 28 countries in total, and is now the biggest economic union in the world by GDP. For big countries, the creation of EU was the removal of many trade and non-tariff barriers. Trade has increased approximately 30% since 1992. For smaller countries, it was a stepping stones for economic growth and negotiation power with larger nations. Since before the creation of EU in 1993, Europe were already the world largest trading regions, but the trading were complicated by

The Maastricht Treaty, signed in 1992, promised to make this group of nations strong. A formal agreement to establish the European Union, it pledged to bring together the

In recent history, following World War II, the Paris Peace Treaty and The Potsdam Agreement, reorganized Europe’s countries dramatically and by the late 1940’s the idea of a European Union was presented. It began as a way to preserve peace among the nations of Europe. In 1951, the first

The European Union was established by the Maastricht treaty in 1993. It provides an economic and political union between 28 European countries which makes its own policies in regards to the members’ societies, laws, economies and to a certain extent security. The European Union embodies the key principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law as well as the values of equality, social solidarity, sustainable development and good governance (Knud 2013). There are many key articles within the EU including article three which states that it is the unions aim to promote peace the well being of there people and their values. Furthermore, article four highlights that in accordance with article five competences not conferred upon the unions remain with the member states. The EU institutions are responsible for employing over 40,000 people within the 28 member states. In addition, the European unions economy estimated at

It was a first step towards an European Union. Not only Schuman was concerned with an integrating Europe, also Winston Churchill famously called for cooperation. Churchill said European cooperation would bring “nothing but good and hope in a richer, freer, more contented European communality.” Both Schuman and Churchill passionately talk about Europe not as a means to cooperate economically, but as a political entity that can ensure that a war such as the First and Second World War will never break out again.

The European countries were not strong to handle the aftermath of the second world war individually, they were in need of some sort of unification to help them rise back up in order to develop a new life for its citizens. (Dutta, 2011) Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister expressed that when he said “It is to recreate the European Family to provide it with a structure under which it can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom. We must build a kind of United States of Europe.’’1

After The Second World War, Europe was on the brink as it was in a state of total ruin, both economically and politically. Europe was involved in two World Wars in only fifty years, there was a massive need to achieve lasting peace as well as economic stability, this however would be difficult to achieve. The first major step was taken in 1951, when the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established. It was the chain of events leading from the ECSC that would be the first steps in molding today’s European Union. Throughout this period the “European” project was erratic and underwent quick development at certain times, and at others came to a grinding halt. The culminations of the larger moves seen in the sculpting of Europe were the main factors in the formation of the Europe that is seen today. Arguably the most important milestone is the, Treaty of Maastricht (1992).

The Maastricht Treaty was a complex 1993 agreement that transformed the European Economic Community into the European Union so as to increase political and economic cooperation in Europe. Political objectives were given far greater consideration in the agreement than in any preceding agreement among the member states. Goals included improving the democratic legitimacy and efficacy of insitutions, furthering the economic and monetary union of states, and facilitating the development of a common foreign and security policy as well as broadening the social sphere of the existing European Community. The first pillar of the agreement established the European Community and Parliament,

The European Union (EU) was established in order to prevent the horrors of modern warfare, experienced by most of Europe during the World Wars of the 20th century, from ever ensuing again, by aiming to create an environment of trust with the countries of Europe cooperating in areas such as commerce, research and trade (Adams, 2001). The EU has evolved into an economic, trade, political and monetary alliance between twenty-eight European Member States. While not all Member States are in monetary union (i.e. share the currency of the euro), those that are form the ‘Euro-zone’ (Dinan, 2006). The EU can pass a number of types of legislation, with a regulation, act, or law, being the most powerful. Its ‘tricameral’ (European Union, 2007)