The integration of Europe was proposed as early as the fourteenth century, but these ideas did not start to be realized until the period of economic, political, and military reconstruction following world war two. European integration was motivated by political, economic and security considerations. There was a need to base Western security and defense on economic reconstruction, along with the desire for Franco-German reconciliation as the rock of stability within Western Europe.

The European economy was in a shambles by the end of World War II. Things were so bad that some Europeans believed that the reconstruction of western Europe could only be possible with the creation of a unified European state, so they started thinking in those terms.

Franco-German rivalry had bedevilled Europe. Two French statesman named Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman believed that France and Germany might put aside their long-running differences and join hands in favour of a better economic future. Schuman proposed the creation of a common authority to regulate the coal and steel industries in West Germany and France in May, 1950. Though he was talking just about West Germany and France, the membership was also open to other western European countries. The French proposal was welcomed by the West German government and also by the governments of Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The five countries signed the treaty of Paris in 1951, and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established in August 1952.

Later the foreign ministers of the ECSC nations agreed to examine the possibilities for further economic solidarity. This resulted in two new treaties which created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Of these, Euratom turned out to be of very little significance since each national government kept control of it's own nuclear power programmes. But the EEC treaty had the mission of (i) eliminating the trade barriers among its member nations, (ii) the development of a common tariff for imports from the rest of the world, and (iii) the creation of a common policy for managing and supporting agriculture.

Seeing the economic success of the EEC nations, the United Kingdom which was not a member of the EEC, together with six other non-EEC countries decided in 1960 to form the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The UK also began negotiations towards membership in the EEC. But the then French president, Charles de Gaulle, vetoed British membership because of its close ties with the USA. They tried again and he vetoed their admittance again.

In July 1967, the three communities (the EEC, the ECSC, and Euratom) merged to become the EC or the European Community. No progress was made on enlargement of the EC until after Charles de Gaulle resigned as president of France in 1969. The nect French president, Georges Pompidou, was more open to new inclusions in the EC and a summit meeting of the leaders of the member states was held. This paved the way for the creation of a permanent financing arrangement for the EC, the development of a framework for foreign-policy cooperation among the member nations, and the opening of membership negotiations with the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark. In January 1973, after several years of negotiations, these applicant countries also became part of the EC. Greece entered the EC in 1981 and, after eight years of negotiations, Spain and Portugal joined in 1986. In April 1990 East Germany too became an automatic member after the reunification of Germany.

The European Union or the EU, as it is known, was created on the 1st of November, 1993 with the approval of the Treaty on European Union or the Treaty of Maastricht. This Treaty was ratified at Maastricht in the Netherlands by the heads of government of the 12 countries that form the European Community. The 12 countries that form the EC were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. Before this the EU was known as the EC. Now the countries are the EU members and the EC is the policy making body of the EU. In 1995 the EU accepted another three new member states with the admission of Austria, Finland and Sweden. It now consisted of 15 members. Many other countries including Turkey, Cyprus, Malta, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia and Poland have applied for membership in the EU and the next enlargement is scheduled to take place in 2003.