Abstract
In order to define the characteristics of the EU as an entity, it is essential to determine the sources of its creation. The immediate origins of European unification lie in the economic and political problems confronting European countries, notably France and Germany, in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Indeed, the war had devastated European economies, and national governments in 1945 were first and foremost forced to address the task of economic reconstruction. Economic prosperity was the driving motive for unity, and European leaders were becoming more concerned with the material improvement of life on a peaceful continent, as expressed in Winston Churchill's speech at Zurich in September 1946 in which he called for a "United States of Europe" led by Europe's former antagonists, France and Germany.
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