The EU on the Path to Consolidation?

When the EEC became a reality in 1958, there was euphoria among the six members. There was justified hope that the economic differences that existed at the time (especially between Germany and France) would over time give way to a homogeneous entity. The first expansion of the EU in 1973 (to include the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark) was recorded as a political and economic success for all sides. In the following decades, the UK has always opposed a deepening of integration and has carved out a special position for itself in key areas. After the narrowly successful exit vote in June 2016, its membership ended after 47 years on January 31, 2020. The intervening time was used to regulate future relations, only in the Northern Ireland issue (with or without a hard border to the Republic of Ireland) a solution deemed fair by the negotiating partners could only be found in 2023, the durability of which has yet to prove itself.