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Like many people, I'm in a state of confusion over the Brexit negotiations so I thought I'd try to overcome this by learning a bit more about the EU - going back to basics, really. So to kick it off, here's a very general account of the origins of the EU.
After World War Two, the so-called "Founding Fathers" - a diverse group of individuals including politicians, lawyers and resistance fighters - began to look into ways of avoiding such conflicts in the future. They included Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the new Federal Republic of Germany, Britain's Winston Churchill - who, according to the EU's website, was "one of the first to call for a 'United States of Europe' ", a fact which might surprise many older Brits today - and Italy's Altiero Spinelli. All these men were united in their vision of a united, peaceful Europe, and thought the way to achieve that was through greater economic co-operation. French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, a political and economic advisor, drew up what became known as the Schuman Plan, which was published on 9th May 1950. The plan advocated joint control of the iron and steel industry, the idea being that as these were the main ingredients of the Arms industry, such co-operation would prevent any one nation becoming dominant in that area, and therefore lessen the chances of another war.
This led to the Treaty of Paris in 1951, which created the European Coal and Steel Community. To begin with, only six countries were involved. These were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 1957, at the Treaty of Rome, the European Economic Community, or "Common Market", was formally created and, at the same time, the European Atomic Energy Community to work alongside it. In 1967, the three communities - the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community - merged into the European Communities. At this stage, the focus of the organisation was on co-operation in economic and agricultural matters.
After World War Two, the so-called "Founding Fathers" - a diverse group of individuals including politicians, lawyers and resistance fighters - began to look into ways of avoiding such conflicts in the future. They included Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the new Federal Republic of Germany, Britain's Winston Churchill - who, according to the EU's website, was "one of the first to call for a 'United States of Europe' ", a fact which might surprise many older Brits today - and Italy's Altiero Spinelli. All these men were united in their vision of a united, peaceful Europe, and thought the way to achieve that was through greater economic co-operation. French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, a political and economic advisor, drew up what became known as the Schuman Plan, which was published on 9th May 1950. The plan advocated joint control of the iron and steel industry, the idea being that as these were the main ingredients of the Arms industry, such co-operation would prevent any one nation becoming dominant in that area, and therefore lessen the chances of another war.
This led to the Treaty of Paris in 1951, which created the European Coal and Steel Community. To begin with, only six countries were involved. These were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 1957, at the Treaty of Rome, the European Economic Community, or "Common Market", was formally created and, at the same time, the European Atomic Energy Community to work alongside it. In 1967, the three communities - the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community - merged into the European Communities. At this stage, the focus of the organisation was on co-operation in economic and agricultural matters.
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