ABSTRACT
Initiated with the strong support and nurture of the United States, the post-war reconstruction of Europe was aimed at bringing back democracy and economic development, and creating the conditions for peaceful cooperation between European states. At the initiative of French economic planning commissioner Jean Monnet, Foreign Minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 made his famous declaration, presenting a plan to create a common market for coal and steel, comprising France, Germany and any other European countries that wanted to join. The European Union and the common market gave Europe peace and economic development. The European Union became an oasis of stability, democracy, respect for human rights, and human welfare. In 2016 the European Union numbered 28 states, home to more than half a billion people. Europe’s future economic success depends on maintaining the European Union and the common market.
