Schuman said the very purpose of the European Community was to unify the Continent. And that included the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, then under Soviet occupation.

Fact One: Schuman was sure that the  Soviet Union, then a superpower at its zenith with H-bombs and a vast empire, would collapse before the end of the twentieth century.

Fact Two: The European Community was made to welcome  in it the countries then under Communist rule.

Fact Three: Schuman told his fellow Western Europeans that it was their  DUTY  to be ready to welcome into the European Community those countries when freed of their repression and able to exercise their free will. If the leaders had remembered the principles of supranational communities this could have been done within a couple of years of the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Fact Four: The European Community -- the legal entity of the European Union -- is not a club. It is a Community. Its purpose is to serve all members under the democratic rule of supranational law, not to force new members to conform to bureaucratic rules cut for the advantage of existing members. It is designed for  Mutual Help.

Fact Five: The European Community is  OPEN  to all. It was open to Russia in 1950 and all its Soviet satellite countries. Its aim is to reinforce respect for human beings, fundamental freedoms and tackle together problems and opportunities to create a better future based on justice, peace and works of peace.

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