ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Founding fathers of the European Union

Okay, so you know how sometimes people work together to do things? Like building a sandcastle or playing a game with your friends. Well, a long time ago some grown-ups in Europe decided they wanted to work together too. They wanted to make sure that countries in Europe wouldn't fight with each other anymore, like they had in the past. So they got together and talked about how they could do that.

These grown-ups were called the Founding Fathers of the European Union. They were people from different countries in Europe who wanted to create a united Europe. They thought that if they could work together, then they could make Europe a better place to live in.

The Founding Fathers included important people like Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Alcide De Gasperi. They came up with a plan to create a group called the European Coal and Steel Community. This group was meant to help countries in Europe work together so they wouldn't fight with each other anymore.

After that, the Founding Fathers decided to create more groups to help countries work together. They made the European Economic Community, which helped countries trade with each other. They also made the European Union, which is a group of countries that work together on things like laws, money, and policies.

So, the Founding Fathers of the European Union were important people who worked together to create a united Europe. They wanted to make sure that countries wouldn't fight with each other anymore, and that people could live better lives. They made lots of different groups to help countries work together, and they're still helping Europe today!