For most of its first 60 years of existence, the challenges confronting the European Union were largely internal. The process of European integration was designed to bring peace to a war-ravaged continent by laying down common rules for trade overseen by a European Court of Justice that would turn competitors into partners. During this time, the scope of EU rule-making has been vastly extended to create a single market for goods and many services and to address new common challenges in areas such as criminal justice. It was also extended geographically too as the original community of six member states became one of 28.

Source: Wall Street Journal November 26, 2017 21:45 UTC