Three key qualities of the European Union The European Union is a remarkable endeavour which is absolutely unique in human history. Three reasons are, most of the time, proposed for explaining this collective will of the Europeans to unite. First, the lessons drawn from the wars, particularly the last two world wars, which were, from a European standpoint, abominable civil wars.
Second, after World War II the emergence of the Soviet Union empire creating a major economic, social and strategic threat for Europe. And third, the challenge of global economic competition which called upon the setting up of a large single market to benefit from economies of scale of the same order of magnitude as those existing in the US single market.