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The European Union

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The European Union was formed after WW2 in the late 1940s. The main purpose behind the establishment of the European Union was to end the period of wars between neighbouring countries and unite all of Europe as one strong economy. The nations officially started joining the European Council in 1949. The initial six nations that acted as founding members for the European Union were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and Netherland (European Commision, 2014). Overtime, more nations joined in and united 28 countries till 2015. The additional countries that joined in included Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom (European Commision, 2015). The European Union was created to strengthen the economy of the continent and to provide a better quality life to the general population of Europe. Also, uniting countries provided combat and military advantages through power in numbers. The single European Act was signed in 1987 with the aim of eventually creating a “single market” for trade. This policy allowed for easier trade, more citizen interaction on issues such as the environment and security, and easier travel through the different countries. This time was generally recognized as the period when the modern EU arose due to the

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