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European integration accelerated after World War II as a practical antidote to nationalism and war.
After World War I and especially World War II, European integration gained momentum as a response to the extreme nationalism that had helped drive repeated wars. Early proposals for unity included plans for economic cooperation and federal or parliamentary structures, while wartime and immediate postwar efforts (such as Allied coordination and the creation of new international institutions) helped shift attention toward building shared European mechanisms for peace. By the mid-1940s, the emerging Cold War also shaped the agenda, as Western powers and the Soviet Union increasingly diverged, making European cooperation both a security strategy and a way to prevent renewed conflict. In the postwar aftermath, the first major institutional steps toward what became the European Union began in 1948 with treaties and organizations tied to reconstruction and Western alignment. The Treaty of Paris (1951) created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), designed to bind key war-making industries together and make future conflict less likely. This was followed by the Treaty of Rome (1957), which established the European Economic Community (EEC) and Euratom, creating a customs union and expanding cooperation into economic and nuclear energy domains. Over time, the communities merged into the European Communities (1967), then expanded through the first enlargement (1973), setting the stage for later treaties and deeper integration.
European integration accelerated after World War II as a practical antidote to nationalism and war.
Cold War tensions and Western-Soviet rivalry influenced the timing and direction of early European institutions.
The ECSC (Treaty of Paris, 1951) aimed to reduce the likelihood of war by pooling control of coal and steel.
The Treaty of Rome (1957) created the EEC and Euratom, expanding integration into trade and nuclear cooperation.
The communities merged in 1967 and enlarged in 1973, marking early growth toward a larger, more powerful European project.
A foundational postwar institution created by the Treaty of Paris (1951) to coordinate coal and steel production and reduce the risk of renewed war.
The treaty that established the ECSC, bringing together key industries under shared European control.
The treaty that created the European Economic Community (EEC) and Euratom, establishing a customs union and broader cooperation.
The community created by the Treaty of Rome to promote economic integration through a customs union and shared institutions.
The nuclear cooperation community created alongside the EEC by the Treaty of Rome (1957).
The agreement that created a single set of institutions for the three European communities, effective in 1967.
The collective name for the ECSC, EEC, and Euratom after their institutional merger in 1967.
The post-1945 geopolitical rivalry between Western powers and the Soviet Union that shaped European cooperation and security planning.
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