European integration : the contribution of the West European Union

Abstract

The birth of the European idea finds its descendance from the negative consequences created by the catastrophic menace of the Second World War. The West European Union (WEU), founded in 1954 as Europe's defensive arm against the German or the Soviet threat, proved more helpful in the cause for European integration rather than towards the aim of its inception. Nevertheless, as the forces of history worked their way, the WEU played a role of no lesser importance. According to this frame of thought the WEU functioned as the archetype on which the EU was based, supporting on varying levels of cooperation and actions in an effective manner the very cause of European integration. ; peer-reviewed