European Union

The European Union (EU) was a mid-20th century human political and economic union of around two dozen member states that were located primarily in Europe on Earth in the Sol System. Although initially formed to manage a single market and currency union among its member states, by the 1960s the EU's member nations had developed common policies in many areas including international trade and defence.

The European Union was dissolved in 1968, when it was merged with the Commonwealth of Nations to create a new supranational intergovernmental union called the United Commonwealth.

History
The Great War (1914-16), and particularly the exchange of orbital kinetic bombardment weapons that ended the conflict, left much of the European continent devastated. The conflict killed around 100 million people, the vast majority of them civilians in Europe, and resulted in the destruction of dozens of major European cities. Many of the European great powers that had fought in the war saw the collapse of their governments and fragmentation of their nations, as well as the losses of their overseas colonial empires.

Relations between the primary combatants in the war, Great Britain, France and Germany, remained tense for several years after the conflict had officially ended despite the signing of an armistice agreement in Switzerland in 1918. The major point of contention was Germany's continued post-war military occupation of most of Belgium and all of Luxembourg, which the German government claimed was necessary due to its concerns about a possible British and French invasion of Germany. From the early 1920s, however, the European political climate had greatly shifted from the previous decade. Europeans roundly rejected nationalism and advocated liberalism and pan-European relations to avoid another European war. Under pressure from the international community and even advocacy groups within Germany itself, in 1923 Germany voluntarily relinquished control over the parts of Belgium and Luxembourg which it had occupied since the Great War. This led to a dramatic improvement in relations between Germany, Great Britain and France, paving the way for international trade to resume between the three nations.

Despite new optimism that a long-term peace could be maintained on the continent, Europe's economic recovery was slow. The major economies of Europe would take several decades to return to their pre-war levels of productivity. In the meantime, Western European economies had been greatly eclipsed in size by those of the United States, Japan, India and China. By the 1940s, it had been realised that cooperation between smaller European economies would give Europe greater bargaining power in negotiating international trade agreements, while integration would greatly improve intra-European trade. European leaders were also motivated to form an economic union by the success of the Commonwealth of Nations, a similar union that had already been formed between Great Britain and several of its former colonies.

The European Union was founded in 1951 by Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland, with a new unified currency called the Euro replacing existing currencies in its member nations. Denmark and Hungary also joined the EU in 1956.

European integration advanced rapidly during the first half of the 1960s. From 1960, most passport controls were abolished for cross-border travel between EU member states as well as Switzerland. In 1961, the resources of the the civil space research agencies of all European member states were folded into the newly-formed European Space Agency (ESA), a unified space agency formed by the members of the European Union. Although it was not a member of the European Union, Great Britain also joined the ESA.

In 1965, the member states of the European Union made the decision to unify their military forces under a single European command. The national armed forces of all EU member states were dissolved and their personnel and resources were integrated into the newly-formed European Union Defense Force.

Many new members joined the union in the middle of the 1960s, including Eastern European states that had become independent from the Russian Empire after the Great War. The rapid expansion of the European Union toward its borders and the increasing military cooperation between union members caused diplomatic friction between the EU and the communist Soviet Union.

In 1968, the European Union successfully tested a thermonuclear weapon. The European Union had inherited programs to produce a hydrogen bomb from both Germany and France.

Only a few years after its foundation, negotiations began between the EU and Commonwealth of Nations officials about a prospective merging of the two intergovernmental organisations. This would create a large global free trade zone that would give the new organisation huge bargaining power in trade negotiations, and a large combined military force that would serve to protect member nations from the powerful Soviet Union. In 1968 the political and economic structures of the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations were merged to form the United Commonwealth. The United Commonwealth federalised its government in 1988 in response to the start of the Allied-Cramori War, becoming the premier human political and economic power until the Human Federation was established in the 22nd century.

Unlike all other EU member nations, Ukraine and Norway did not adopt the Euro as their national currency. This is because they joined in 1966 and 1967, respectively, only a couple of years before the European Union was due to be replaced by the United Commonwealth. Instead of the Euro, Ukraine and Norway instead adopted the new Commonwealth credit when it came into use in 1968.

Government and economy
The treaties establishing the EU created an internal single market between European Union member nations. A monetary union was also established upon the EU's foundation in 1951, leading to the replacement of all national currencies with the Euro.

EU policies were passed by the European Parliament in Luxembourg, which had members elected by the citizens of member states, who also elected their national parliaments. The laws passed by the European Parliament aimed to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market. However, European integration had advanced rapidly, and by the 1960s the European Parliament's scope had expanded to enacting legislation in justice and home affairs and maintaining common European-wide policies on a variety of areas including trade, defence, agriculture, fisheries and regional development.

The European Commission acted both as the EU's executive arm, responsible for the day-to-day running of the EU, and also the legislative initiator, with the sole power to propose laws for debate. One European Commissioner was also elected by voters in each EU member state during European Union elections. A single European Commissioner was selected to be the President of the European Commission. By the middle of the 1960s, due to the rapid progress of European integration, a unified foreign and defence policy for all EU member states had become de facto formulated and implemented by the European Commission and the European Parliament instead of their national governments.

Military


The European Union's member states maintained their own national military forces until 1965, when the personnel and resources of all EU military forces were combined to form the European Union Defense Force. The European Union Defense Force (EUDF) was formed primarily in response to the military power of the Soviet Union. All EUDF military forces, including atomic weapons inherited from the militaries of Germany and France, were placed directly under the command of the European Commission. In most circumstances, the deployment of EU military forces had to be approved by a majority vote of the European Parliament.

The EUDF only existed for three years until 1968, when the United Commonwealth was formed and EUDF assets as well as the militaries of the separate member states of the former Commonwealth of Nations were reorganised into the United Commonwealth Defence Force, whose structure was largely based on that of the EUDF.

During its short existence, the EU's military was widely regarded to be the fourth most-powerful in the world after the armed forces of the United States, the Soviet Union and Japan.

Land Command


Land Command was the service branch of the EUDF specialising in land warfare. It was commonly referred to as the army. The largest service branch of the EUDF, Land Command inherited many different types of weapons from the preceding armies of several EU member states. Several types of European-made bolt-action and semi-automatic service rifles were used, most originating from the Great War era. These were augmented by M14 and M1 Garand rifles acquired from the United States as military aid by many European nations. Land Command eventually intended to replace the variety of service rifles in its inventory with the Belgian-designed FN FAL rifle, once sufficient funding was available.

Land Command had several small gravity drive-propelled scout and attack vehicles in service by the end of the 1960s, which were gradually replacing various types of light tanks and reconnaissance ground vehicles. Like other armies, Land Command still saw a use for heavy tanks due to their heavier armour and lower profile than small gravity drive craft. Land Command's primary heavy tank in the late 1960s was the French-designed AMX-50.

Land Command operated several different types of howitzers and tactical ballistic missiles. The EUDF did not have the technology to produce a nuclear warhead small enough to fit into an artillery shell or small tactical rocket until 1968, when the EU tested a thermonuclear weapon for the first time.

Land Command operated infantry and armoured amphibious and space warfare battalions, which were intended for deployment in amphibious assault operations from ships and deployments to protect the interplanetary colonies of EU member states in conjunction with Maritime Command and Space Command, respectively.

Maritime Command
Maritime Command was the naval force of the EUDF. It operated several different warship and airship designs. Many of Europe's surface warships dated from the Great War period but had been upgraded with new defence systems, radars and navigation systems. Its flagship was the brand new flying aircraft carrier ENS (European Naval Service) Europa, which was powered by first-generation gravity drives. Maritime Command had an air wing of small gravity drive-powered combat and support aircraft which operated from Europa, as well as several command, maritime patrol and anti-submarine airships.

Maritime Command operated a small fleet of three deterrent submarines, which were propelled by gravity drives and equipped with nuclear reactors that powered their on-board electrical systems. Much of Maritime Command's submarine fleet was still conventionally-powered and considered outdated compared to their American, Japanese and Soviet equivalents. The EU's surface warships, military airships and maritime patrol aircraft could be equipped with atomic depth charges to destroy enemy submarines.

Air Command


Air Command, the air force of the EU, was the second-largest service branch of the EUDF after Land Command by the number of personnel. It possessed examples of very advanced equipment for the 1960s, including the EPCA (European Plasma Combat Aircraft), an advanced fighter and medium-range strike aircraft powered by a plasma propulsion engine giving it the capability to reach several times the speed of sound within the Earth's atmosphere. Design of the aircraft had been launched by the military of Germany when it was independent in the 1950s, and was heavily influenced by spaceships of the Venusian Empire that had been discovered preserved in Antarctica by the German Empire in 1912. The European Union had developed the capability to produce the gravity drive from 1962, and Air Command already had several types of European-designed attack, strike, close air support and transport aircraft powered by first-generation gravity drives in service by 1968.

However, during the 1960s a significant portion of Air Command's combat air fleet still consisted of aging fixed-wing turboprop-driven close air support and bomber aircraft. These included the German-designed Fokker Fa 519 turboprop combat aircraft. Air Command also operated a small number of helicopters, such as the Aérospatiale Alouette II light scout helicopter. The turboprop combat aircraft and helicopters were progressively being replaced by much more capable gravity drive-powered aircraft, and by the late 1960s most of Air Command's remaining older-generation aircraft had been relegated to secondary combat roles.

Space Command


The EU Space Command controlled the primary strategic nuclear deterrent assets of the European Union, with eight orbital weapons platforms at its height (which were equipped with orbital kinetic penetrator weapons and atomic weapons) as well as land-based, plasma rocket-propelled ballistic missiles located in silos throughout Europe. The EU did not test a thermonuclear weapon until 1968; as a result, its atomic warheads and the missiles carrying them were larger but less powerful and efficient than nuclear weapons used by the United States and Japan.

The EU Space Command also operated a number of interplanetary space warships intended to secure interplanetary shipping routes between Earth and the colonies of EU member states on Mars, Venus and Titan. By 1968, the frontline warships of Space Command were primarily powered by plasma rockets with secondary first generation gravity drive propulsion units and equipped with plasma rocket-propelled missiles armed with atomic warheads.

European Union Space Command inventory in 1968
At the time of its dissolution in 1968, European Union Space Command possessed the following ships and space stations:

Space warships

 * 2 Michelangelo-class space warships (built 1962-1967, designed in Germany, formerly called Brandenburg-class) - plasma rocket-powered cruisers with secondary first generation gravity drive propulsion, armed with atomic weapons. Nuclear reactors used for electrical generation and life support systems. Both ships to eventually be refitted with thermonuclear weapon armament. At least 3 more under construction to replace Lyon-class.
 * 2 Marco Polo-class space warships (built 1962-1967, designed in France, formerly called Foch-class) - plasma rocket-powered cruisers with secondary first generation gravity drive propulsion, armed with atomic weapons. Nuclear reactors used for electrical generation and life support systems. Both ships to eventually be refitted with thermonuclear weapon armament.
 * 1 Leonardo Da Vinci-class space warship (built 1962-1967, designed in Italy) - plasma rocket-powered cruiser with secondary first generation gravity drive propulsion, refitted with atomic weapon armament. To eventually be refitted with thermonuclear weapon armament.
 * 4 Bremen-class space warships (built 1950-1961, designed in Germany) - plasma rocket-powered cruisers. 2 armed with atomic weapons and 2 armed with tungsten kinetic penetrator plasma missiles. All four to be refitted with thermonuclear weapon armament.
 * 3 Lyon-class space warships (built late 1940s-1961, designed in France) - frigates powered by conventional liquid-fueled rockets, armed with tungsten kinetic penetrator missiles. To be replaced by additional Michelangelo class cruisers.

Orbital weapons platforms

 * 4 Hades-class orbital weapons platforms (built 1962-1967 by Germany) - All armed with atomic weapons with nuclear reactors for on-board electrical power and life support systems. Planned to be refitted with thermonuclear weapon armament. At least 1 more to be constructed.
 * 3 Zeus-class orbital weapons platforms (built 1963-1967 by France) - All armed with atomic weapons with nuclear reactors for on-board electrical power and life support systems. Planned to be refitted with thermonuclear weapon armament.
 * 1 Bayern-class orbital weapons platform (built during the Great War by Germany) - Upgraded, armed with conventional kinetic penetrator weapons. Planned to be replaced by an additional Hades-class platform.

Member states
The members of the European Union, between the union's formation in 1951 and its replacement by the United Commonwealth in 1968, included the following European nations:
 * [[Image:Flag of Belgium11.svg|20px]] Belgium (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of France33.png|20px|link=Special:FilePath/Flag_of_France11.png]] France (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of GermanRepublic33.png|20px|link=Special:FilePath/Flag_of_Germany11.png]] Germany (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of Ita33.png|20px|link=Special:FilePath/Flag_of_Italy11.png]] Italy (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of Luxembourg11.png|20px]] Luxembourg (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of Netherlands11.png|20px]] Netherlands (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of Poland33.png|20px|link=Special:FilePath/Flag_of_Poland11.png]] Poland (founding member)
 * [[Image:Flag of Denmark33.png|20px]] Denmark (joined in 1956)
 * [[Image:Flag of Hungary33.png|20px]] Hungary (joined in 1956)
 * [[Image:Flag of Czechoslovakia33.png|20px]] Czechoslovakia (joined in 1960)
 * [[Image:Flag of Greece33.png|20px]] Greece (joined in 1961)
 * [[Image:Flag of Turkey33.png|20px]] Turkey (joined in 1961)
 * [[Image:Flag of Bulgaria33.png|20px]] Bulgaria (joined in 1964)
 * [[Image:Flag of PortEmpi11.png|20px]] Portugal (joined in 1964)
 * [[Image:Flag of Spain11.svg|20px]] Spain (joined in 1964)
 * [[Image:Flag of Finland33.png|20px]] Finland (joined in 1965)
 * [[Image:Flag of Romania33.png|20px]] Romania (joined in 1965)
 * [[Image:Flag of Sweden33.png|20px]] Sweden (joined in 1965)
 * [[Image:Flag of Yugo33.png|20px]] Yugoslavia (joined in 1965)
 * [[Image:Flag of Ukraine33.png|20px]] Ukraine (joined in 1966)
 * [[Image:Flag of Norway33.png|20px]] Norway (joined in 1967)