Economic rather than political factors were the main cause of European integration - Discuss.

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CHRIS POLES  -  499103311

ML105 - ESSAY 1

ECONOMIC RATHER THAN POLITICAL FACTORS WERE THE MAIN CAUSE OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION - DISCUSS

Economic rather than political factors were the main cause of European integration - Discuss.

In order to discuss the statement which constitutes the title of this essay, there are clarifications which must be made regarding the statement to be discussed. Firstly European integration has been an ongoing process which did not suddenly start with the European Economic Community (EEC), nor with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). However for the purposes of this essay, the term European integration will only be discussed in the context of post 1945 developments. Also it must be taken into account that due to the fact that European integration has been attempted in many different forms, at many different times and by many different people, it will be impossible to conclude this essay with a straight agreement or disagreement of the title. However the essay will examine the various different attempts at European integration, attempting to decipher the factors behind the wish for integration.

        After the second world war there was a new feeling of urgency to integrate the states of Western Europe for both economic and political reasons. Europe was economically drained by the war and still feared possible aggression from the USSR and was very wary of  Germany and a possible military resurgence in future years. In addition to this, some western European states were also politically unstable due to internal divisions caused by the settling of old scores between those who had collaborated with the Nazi occupiers and those who had not. Also there was a move to the left in politics across Western Europe, possibly due to an antifascist feeling which after the war was understandable. For these reasons it was felt by many European states and the United States of America that European integration was the way forward as the European states could work together to revive their weak economies and resist any possible military threat from outside Europe.

        The US were actually against a possible union of Western European states from 1943 to 1947 as they did not want to see a united Europe that would possibly rival the status of the United States as the joint world superpower with the USSR, and threaten its economic domination. However, the US saw that the USSR were a serious threat to world peace after they did not allow the East European states in their sphere of influence to become independent and democratic and would not agree to cooperate with Great Britain, France and the US over the territorial division of Germany.  Therefore the United States of America actively supported European integration by giving economic aid (known as Marshall Aid) to the European states who agreed to cooperate with each other and form the Organisation for European Economic Integration (OEEC).  This shows that the US feared a communist invasion by the USSR led by Stalin. The US saw a strong Europe was vital to resist any such attempts by Stalin and therefore helped with the European economic revival. It can therefore be said that during the Cold War the US was a strong supporter of European integration for political and security reasons and merely saw economic support for Europe as a means of achieving its goals.

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        The most important early European integration took form in the shape of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This was an agreement between France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) to create a common market for the coal and steel industries of these countries. The motives for the ECSC differed between the member countries. The prime motive for France was economic as it saw the ECSC as a way of gaining access to Germanys large steel resources and of strengthening its economy. Also it was a way of controlling the most important aspects ...

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