The EU brings many benefits especially to countries with smaller populations or countries which are still poorer than other EU countries. A common market for trade means that a manufacturer in one country now has a market of over 500 million people to whom they can sell without trade tarrifs or other barriers. Open borders mean that there are no limits to persons traveling, residing or working in other EU countries. This also means that businesses and individuals from other countries can invest in that country. If the EU were considered as a country then it would be the richest in the world and with one of the largest populations (after only China and India). The EU also brings peace and stability - why fight over borders when borders mean very little in the present EU?
It might be difficult for nations in this region to balance economic growth with environmental concerns because of the environment in the region.
A strike or work stoppage.
the hope that international cooperation might prevent future global conflict
It has built good relations between countries that during their history, like in World War II, would have been at war. Now these countries work together with a common purpose for mutual benefits.
France might object to trade barriers on farm produce because its agricultural sector is a significant part of the economy, supporting rural jobs and contributing to national identity through traditional farming practices. Such barriers could limit market access for French farmers, reducing their competitiveness and sales in international markets. Additionally, France often advocates for fair competition and the free movement of goods within the European Union, viewing trade barriers as detrimental to both economic growth and consumer choice.
A military alliance of communist nations in eastern Europe. Organized in 1955 in answer to NATO, the Warsaw Pact included Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. It disintegrated in 1991, in the wake of the collapse of communism in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.The treaty was signed in Warsaw on 14 May 1955, and the pact was dissolved in Prague on 1 July 1991.The Warsaw Pact no longer exists. It was an alliance of the Eastern Bloc countries, established in 1955 by the Soviet Union as a counterpart to NATO.It is not war saw, but Warsaw. In response to the birth of the NATO, the Communist countries of Europe signed a treaty of mutual defense and military aid in May 1955. The leading country of the Warsaw Pact was the USSR. This 'coalition' collapsed in 1991, when the USSR dissolved.
The founding fathers had lots of visions for the future United States, and some of them might have liked America to wind up like the European Union. Benjamin Franklin might appreciate the modern European Union.
Theres been many wars; which one?
Communist propaganda almost triggered another European conflict. Also, the raising of the Berlin Wall and the rest of the Iron Curtain nearly drove the former Allied Powers to another conflict. The Soviet Union's seizure of most of eastern Europe and eastern Berlin was not what the Allies had agreed upon prior to the end of World War II and was seen by the US, Britain and France as outright aggression by the Soviet Union that might only be prevented by military action by the remaining Allied Powers against the Soviet Union.
Because Stalin was an imperialist who wanted to extend the borders of the USSR. At the end of WWII the other major world powers, the US and the UK were very weary of waging war by that time, and the UK was broke, and so when they were faced with having to fight the fearsome might of the Soviet army they decided to do absolutely nothing to oppose the illegal Soviet invasions of the various Eastern European countries. The Iron Curtain was born and it defined European politics for generations to come.
Following World War II, the two strongest nations that emerged were the United States and the Soviet Union. The U.S. emerged as a global superpower with significant economic strength, military might, and influence in international politics, while the Soviet Union established itself as a major power through its extensive military capabilities and control over Eastern Europe. This rivalry between the two nations led to the Cold War, shaping global dynamics for several decades.
There would be a great amount of peace for all nations at that time.
Eastern European origin is likely to be like an old immigrant. This is the immigrant that fled from Nazi persecution.
Belgium and the Netherlands are already closer than most EU countries as they are subsets of the Benelux Countries -- Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. They share similar cultures and bonds and contiguous boundaries and are both members of the euro and Shengen. Short of an outright union of taxation and fiscal policy, or a union of the nations there is little more that can be done to economically or politically bring them closer together.
Basically all of Eastern Europe. Influence might be a better word than control, but try telling that to the Hungarians in 1956 or the Czechs in 1968. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Rumania & Bulgaria were all Warsaw pact countries, Yugoslavia was not.
The European Union was created to form a more united Europe. It is considered the most influential and powerful "country" in the world (quotations because it is truly not a country but really an organization). Many people believe that the EU might fuse into one nation someday.
Germany at almost 82 million. For more information you might wish to consult the wikipedia article about the demographics of the European Union.