ABSTRACT
TheEuropeanUnionisbothapioneerinconflictpreventionandalatecomertoit.It isapioneerinregardtoadvancingtheideaofconflictpreventionwithinEuropeand amongtheEuropeannation-states.Infact,themainpurposeofthe50-year-old unificationprocesswastobindtogetherFranceandGermanyaswellasotherEuropean statestomakesuretheywouldnotgotowaragain,astheyhadforcenturies.Bytying theirsovereigntytoasupranationalcore,thememberstatesoftheEUdecidedto entangletheirfutureincommonlyagreedrulesandinstitutionsandtoinviteother statestojoin.Theunionhasnowgrownto15andislikelytoseetheaccessionoften moremembersin2004,takingthepopulationoftheEUtoalmosthalfabillion.2Thus Europeanstateshaveturnedfromatraditionofbelligerenceandrepeatedfightingto acultureofco-operationandpeacefulconflictresolution.Asasideeffect,the establishmentanddevelopmentoftheEUhavebeenintimatelyassociatedwitha highdegreeofprosperityandstabilitywithinitsborders.
