Intergration in European Union

HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU). EUROPEAN UNION (EU) INSTITUTIONS. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC). COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES. EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS. EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN. EUROPEAN UNION (EU) ACTIVITIES. LITHUANIA INTEGRATION INTO THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU). FISCAL BENEFIT. SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES. POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES. SAFETY CONSEQUENCES. The origins of European integration date back to the end of World War II. The war had left Europe in ruins and prompted the search for a lasting peace and, in particular, the need to bring about lasting reconciliation between France and Germany. One of the first initiatives was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) established by the Treaty of Paris in 1951. On 9 May 1950 Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister, proposed that French and German coal and steel production should be 'pooled'. Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands joined France and Germany in setting up the ECSC and merging national interests in these industries.