One of the driving forces of the initial impetus for European integration was to establish enduring peace in Europe. The founding fathers, predominantly Catholics, sought to make war among their countries “materially impossible”. The vision of a united Europe was a Christian Democrat project, reflecting a Catholic desire for solidarity to replace destructive nationalism, and it provided a notable alternative to the godless Communism that was a real threat in Europe at that time.

Coming in the wake of two world wars and after centuries of intra-European conflict, the creation of the original European Coal and Steel Community was, in large part, a way to trying to ensure peaceful cooperation among the founding states – France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries.

The British reaction to the end of the Second World War was rather different from that of its nearest neighbours. The Labour Government was reluctant to pool resources of coal and steel in newly nationalised industries and was not moved by the vision of the Frenchmen Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman since the UK had ended the war as a victor, not a defeated power.