The original idea behind it was to form a political and commercial union that would bind the former enemies of World War II together so closely that another war between them would be inconceivable. Konrad Adenauer of Germany and DeGaulle of France (who spoke excellent German, by the way) led the way. At first there was the Common Market, consisting of only France, Germany Italy and the Benelux countries. Italy was the poor man of the group, but with enough agricultural and industrial potential that it was considered a good choice for membership. The EEC (European Economic Community) then started expanding, and pulled in some not-so-good fits. Countries like Portugal and Spain were weaker economically and started draining funds, where countries like Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Austria could carry their own weight, though too small to contribute much economically. Admitting Britian was hotly contested on both side of the Channel, and whereas bringing in the Baltic countries didn't place a huge strain, bringing in the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans did. The Schengen treaty, which abolished border and customs controls between participants at first encompassed a few countries between whom the border controls had become practically meaningless. Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Austria--these countries had huge cross border traffic and practically never caught bad elements traveling between them. But the bringing in the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans meant that these countries could practically export their unemployment westward, and at the same time open their countries for big industries of the west, who were only too happy to close factories at home (and toss millions out of work) and reopen them in the poorer (and hence low wage) countries of the the East.
This also turned out to be an unintended boon to right wing movements all over western Europe, who were suddenly furnished with an influx of organized crime from the east as well as beggars en masse. NOW they had something to whine about, instead of only complaining about too many Pizza parlors or Döner stands. As you can see in France, and even "anything-goes" Holland, they are no longer fringe movements to be laughed at. Now they are winning elections and sending members to parliament due to the shortsightedness of an overly "tolerant" (and overly bureaucratic) EU policy up to now.
It is way more complicated than just this, but it is an introduction as to why it was a great idea that got diluted and then lost. The EU has gotten so tangled up in its bureaucracy, it is starting to look like some of the so-called "socialist" nations of the former Warsaw Pact that also collapsed under their own bureaucracy. If you ever get to see the movie "The Lives Of Others," it is about the former East German secret police and the collapse of their country. My wife saw it twice, once in Leipzig, in the former East Germany, and once with me in Düsseldorf, in the west. In Düsseldorf, the moment the film was over, people were discussing the film like crazy. In Leipzig, when the film ended, she said the whole audience was just sitting in stunned silence, as their whole past had just been relived before their eyes on the screen. The Oscar it received for best "foreign" film was well-deserved.
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