PARIS -- On May 1, eight former communist countries, plus the islands of Malta and Cyprus, will join the European Union, expanding its membership from 15 to 25 countries.
The EU traces its roots back to the European Coal and Steel Community -- which was founded in 1950. Its name signified the limit of its aims. At that time the coal and steel industries were by far the main contributors to the production of weapons, and control of the Ruhr, a vital coal and steel region, was a source of increasing friction between France and Germany.
The purpose of the ECSC was to demonstrate that new wars between France and Germany would be impossible if the two countries integrated these industries and managed them together.
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