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From the ashes of war to a united Europe

Published: 25 Mar. 2025, 00:05 Updated: 26 Mar. 2025, 17:34

Roh Jung-tae

The author is a writer and a senior fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.

Jean Monnet, a French diplomat, had a dream — to build a united Europe. The reality, however, could not have been further from that vision. Torn apart by deep divisions and rivalries, Europe lay in ruins after two devastating world wars. But Monnet did not give up. To prevent yet another catastrophic conflict, the dream of “One Europe” had to become a reality.

Leaders across Europe, including West Germany’s Konrad Adenauer, began to listen. In 1951, the Treaty of Paris established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), marking the first step toward European integration. From that point, Europe began a slow but steady march toward unity.

EU flags flutter in front of European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany on July 18, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP}

The signing of the Treaty of Rome in Italy on March 25, 1957, marked the pinnacle of that vision. France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed a treaty consisting of seven articles, setting the foundation for a political organization with its own legislative, executive, and judicial institutions under a common legal framework. The European Economic Community, as it was initially called, later evolved into the European Community and ultimately the European Union following the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007.

From its inception, the EU was designed to be far removed from war. The ECSC was created to control the production and distribution of coal and steel — the raw materials of war. At the same time, the European Atomic Energy Community was launched to manage the research, development and distribution of nuclear energy. Such a vision was only possible with the United States, as the global security guarantor, holding hegemonic power in the postwar order.

But with U.S. President Donald Trump returning to the White House, Europe now finds itself unable to rely solely on U.S. military backing. The EU has announced its “Readiness 2030 Roadmap,” pledging to invest up to 800 billion euros ($868 billion) in defense spending over the next four years. Germany, too, is taking the lead in reviving its defense industry.

Now is the time to watch closely: Can the EU evolve beyond an economic union into a self-reliant security community?

Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.