As we know, the idea at that time was to better preserve peace by bringing together under a common European roof, with rules that were binding for all participating countries, those resources that had been decisive for the conduct of wars – coal and steel.
Encouraged by their success, the European countries decided to also integrate other sectors of their economies in order to form a common market. In the course of time, other countries joined the European Union – as it has been called since the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 – encompassing today 25 countries. Key milestones have been successfully reached during these years.