Why was the EU founded?

Paragraph brainstorming:
- WWII
- communication, cooperation
- ECSC
- Treaties of Rome --> EEC and Euratom --> EC
- Treaty of Maastricht --> EU
- enlargements
- peace and unity


Original paragraph:

The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II and the atrocities that had been committed during that time led to the idea of a unified Europe putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different european nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) that formed the three communities (EC). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: establishing peace and keeping Europe unified. 


Feedback Summary 1: 

- the topic sentence is not introductory 
- the paragraph is too long 
- a little bit wordy
- missing link between the foundation of the EC and the EU 


2nd version: 


The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II and the atrocities that had been committed during that time led to the idea of a unified Europe putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People wanted to prevent history from repeating itself and tried to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) that formed the three communities (EC). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: establishing peace and keeping Europe unified.

Comments:
-still a little bit too long
-commas 
-register

Final version: 

  
The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II led to the idea of a unified Europe, putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU ever since and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: peace and unity.

Corrected version: 

The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II led to the idea of a unified Europe, putting an end to the seemingly endless conflicts. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The European Union we live in today was established in 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many waiting to join. Then as now, the EU pursues the same goals: peace and unity.

paper ideas and possible titles

I finally came up with some ideas and possible titles for my paper on the EU: 

• Recognition problems of ERASMUS courses

I know I still have to work on the title. This topic is very important to me, as I spent a semester abroad on ERASMUS in Spain. The time was great, the parties didn‘t seem to stop (actually they never did, but that‘s another story), it was just an awesome experience. However, when people think of ERASMUS they only see the bright side of going abroad. Many don‘t know how difficult the recognition of courses taken during an exchange semester can be. In my paper I want to state some academic problems that may occur on an ERASMUS stay and try to show why these might be caused, as I think we all have to know that going abroad is not always a piece of cake. (BTW, this doesn‘t mean that you shouldn‘t do an exchange semester. Didn‘t want to scare you off. Everybody should go on ERASMUS. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!).   

• Bee deaths and the EU's reaction to it  

We all read about the vast amount of bees dying lately. Many people, however, don't know how important these little insects are for our survival. There have been a few reactions to it by the EU. But are there ideas sustainable enough to prevent the situation from getting worse?  

• EU farm subsidies – always supportive? 

The EU farm subsidies provide financial support for farmers. That this is very important is out of the question, but what exactly do farmers have to fulfill in order to receive these and which other restrictions do they have to face? (EU curvy cucumber laws). I think we also have to focus on the negative aspect of this topic. 

• Refugee policy in the EU – How does Lampedusa cause any changes 

Due to the current events, the Refugee policy has become a highly discussed topic within the EU. What is the European Union going to do in order to prevent such tragic incidents in the future. Have there already been some changes or did they at least come up with some reasonable plans?  

• How does the EU support people with disabilities? 

Two years ago the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 was adopted, which states that people with disabilities have the full right to participate "fully and equally in society and economy". Does this strategy work, has the EU put it into practice, or do disabled people still have poorer opportunities than other european citizens?