European Union

EU countries want to blur the line between civilian and military domains – so money can be spent interchangeably on either project.

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Waste management: the Court imposes a financial penalty on Slovenia for having failed to comply with its obligations with regard to the landfilling of waste

“Companies are increasingly seeing a growing downside risk" amid US-driven geopolitical turmoil, said the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.

Today marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War – Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945.

What has VE Day to do with the European Union? Everything.

The European Economic Community – which later became the European Union – was created in the aftermath of the war with one overriding purpose: to build a lasting peace on a continent that had torn itself apart.

That was the passionate aim of the EU’s founding architects, including our own wartime leader, Winston Churchill.

Afer all, Europe had been infamous for nations resolving their differences through violence, invasion and war. Both world wars began here.

So, the EU was never just about economics or trade.

It was a political and social project as much as an economic one – a community of European nations committed not only to working together, but to never again going to war with each other.

The founding vision, set out in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, was to create ‘ever closer union among the peoples of Europe’ – not simply a union of states, but of citizens, bound together by shared values, cooperation, and peace.

Winston Churchill saw it clearly. In his landmark Zurich speech of 1946, he said:

“We must build a kind of United States of Europe. The structure of the United States of Europe, if well and truly built, will be such as to make the material strength of a single state less important.”

That dream took shape just over a decade later, when six nations – France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – founded the EEC in 1957.

It was a remarkable feat. Some of these countries had been brutal enemies only a few years earlier. Four had been occupied by Nazi Germany.

And yet they came together, determined that war between them must become unthinkable.

It worked.

In the 80 years since 1945, no EU member has ever gone to war with another. That is an extraordinary achievement on a continent with such a violent history.

Whilst NATO has protected us – so far – from external threats, it’s the EU’s deep political and economic structure that has helped to prevent war between its members.

This is what many Brexiters never understood – or chose to forget.

The EU is not just a trading bloc. It’s a peace project. A human project. A bold, ongoing effort to build unity where once there was destruction.

By leaving, the UK sent a message: that we no longer value this remarkable peasce project as our neighbours do.

And that’s a tragedy.

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• Related article: The Peace Project that Brexit Never Understood

The post The EU was started to stop war appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Thursday, 8 May

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Thursday, 8 May

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

In today’s edition of The Capitals, read about the Conclave, as cardinals get ready to pick the new Pope, Bulgaria hitting back at Putin’s claim that it is to blame for the Ukraine war, and so much more.

Ukraine is starting to consider a shift away from the US dollar, possibly linking its currency more closely to the euro, says central banker.

Bulgaria has reacted sharply to the Russian president’s statements in a documentary broadcast on the Russian state television Russia-1.

UK officials said the deal would likely include lower tariff quotas on steel and autos.

Economic growth in the middle-income countries of Europe and Central Asia has slowed since the early 2000s due to global challenges and insufficient structural reforms. Countries need to foster a dynamic private sector by attracting global technology, expertise, and capital, supporting young innovative companies, and investing in human capital.

The Commission has referred Poland to the EU Court of Justice over two breaches: missing a timeline for CO2-based road charges and failing to implement the Digital Services Act.

“We have the printing machines ... they have the technology," the European trade commissioner said.

The first budget could become a moment of truth for Merz. 

Even if Trump is serious, taxing films isn’t as straightforward as taxing cars or steel.

The Bulgarian intelligence agency warns that AMR, future epidemics, a shortage of medical personnel, and medicine scarcity could endanger national security.

A new chancellor in Berlin won't easily herald a breakthrough in Polish-German relations.

A new report has identified Ireland as having the lowest availability rate for new cancer medicines in Western Europe, significantly limiting treatment options for patients.

3,000 additional federal police officers are planned to support border controls, German media reported.

"Security of all people travelling through Lithuania, including leaders, is our highest priority, so we took this decision," Lithuania's president said.