The European Peace

From the European Commission’s comments on VE day.

European integration has changed the face of Europe. It has been driven by the common wish of European people: freedom and lasting peace instead of war, replacing conflict, mistrust and hate with understanding and respect; and all of this backed up by institutions to support both our shared destiny and our rich diversity.

The highlighted sentence is something that I agree with, which is why I disagree with the idea that the EU kept the peace. (I fail to understand the addition of the word freedom however). Confused? The EU was only possible because the nations of Europe were desperate not to go to war again. It is a symptom of the wish for peace not the cause of that peace. That said, future disintegration could simply reflect the fact that people across the EU no longer believe that it is necessary for maintaining the peace.