Explain the reasons for the development of the European Union.The European Union is a collection of 28 member countries that share an economic and political bond. They all exist on the European continent and share the euro currency. It's a bit like a club, to join you have to agree to follow the rules and in exchange you get certain benefits. Each country must pay to become a member and does so primarily through taxes. The EU began as an economic agreement between 6 European nations shortly after the conclusion of World War II. Many European countries wanted to ensure that there would never again be wars and massacres on the scale of those experienced during World War II. In 1949 the Council of Europe was established for this purpose. The original European countries were: Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. These 6 countries formed the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) in 1951, so successful that the 6 countries moved to integrate their economies even further. Thus in 1957, just 7 years later, the European Economic Community (EEC) was founded. The goal of this new entity was to eliminate trade barriers between the 6 countries. With the signing of the Treaty of Rome by all member countries, the European common market was born. People, goods and services could now move freely between member countries. The creation and adoption of the euro by the EU was an important economic decision that still influences world economies today. The Euro currency was first used on 1 January 1991. This became the new currency for the EU except for the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark. The first enlargement of the EU did not occur until 1973, 22 years after the formation of the European Union. CZECH. But between 1973 and 199... halfway through the document... However, this commission has very limited legislative power, making it more of an investigative and fact-finding entity than a legislative body. the branch is bicameral, similar to that of the United States, in that it has 2 branches. The first branch is made up of the ministers of each country, the same ministers as the Council. There are 345 votes in this branch and the voting powers are distributed proportionally to the population of a country. The 2nd branch is the European Parliament, with 736 seats. Seats are allocated by a country's population and representatives are elected by each member country. The last of the 3 branches is the judicial branch, which houses the Court of Justice of the European Union. This court is made up of 28 judges, one from each nation, and is the final authority when dealing with treaties, matters between EU institutions and matters between EU member states.