Monnet also argued that a clear sense of direction was vital to the overall trajectory – that “the route that we take is less important than the direction we travel in”.5 Indeed, the fact that union in Europe began in the limited area of economic cooperation – coal and steel – does not mean that it was not intended to be a political union.
For Monnet, economic integration was always a foundation of political union, with the single market leading to the single currency and eventually a federation.