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were also strategic resources for any possible programme of rearming. Thus,the beginnings of cooperation began between pioneering countries wanting tobring peace to Europe.In the 1960s, the European Union marked an important economic developmentwith further integration in Europe and the beginnings of international cooperation.The 1970s saw the first addition of new members, European elections, and aregional policy with the objective of boosting poorer areas. In this decade, thefirst ripples of Euroscepticism appeared %u2013 as an answer, the EU institutionsproposed further integration. In the 1980s, the face of Europe changed with the collapse of communism.The European Union developed with more countries joining, the Erasmusprogramme, and the start of the single market.The main motto of European integration in the 1990s was to build Europewithout frontiers. The European Union developed with further expansion, thegrowth of the single market, border-free travel, and the birth of euro as a newand common currency.At the beginning of the new century, Europe continued in its expansion with12 new countries joining the EU. The euro became legal tender and anotherlegal framework, the Lisbon Treaty, was signed.During a very challenging period from 2010 to 2019, the EU responded to thefinancial crisis, terrorist strikes, and over 1 million asylum seekers arriving inEurope, many fleeing civil war in Syria and in need of international protection.In a referendum in June 2016, 52% of voters in the United Kingdom voted forthe UK to leave the European Union after more than 40 years as a member. TheUK departed on 31 January 2020.Since 2020, the EU has acted under a more united and resilient framework,responding to unprecedented challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic,Russia%u2019s war of aggression against Ukraine, and fighting climate change.It is evident from this brief historical outline that the EU primarily aimed toachieve its political objectives by economic instruments %u2013 from the reductionof trade barriers to the common currency, leading to increased welfare. Throughcross-border trade exchanges, nations came to expand their knowledge ofdifferent economic systems and trade mechanisms, as well as differentsocieties and cultures. Indeed, interaction between people and their economieshas maintained peace for longer than in any other region in the world. n 1. 1. 3. Enlargement of the European UnionOver the years, the EU has progressively enlarged from the original group of sixMember States to the current 27 Member States. As a result, the populationhas grown from 170 million to 449 million (population as of 1 January 2024,according to Eurostat). The different waves of enlargement are as follows:111.1 Dynamic European Integration Environment