Accordingly, what became the European Union started inconspicuously, with the integration of French and German industries that had been most directly associated with war production – coal and steel. Only after economic integration had progressed did the first serious efforts at political integration take place.
正因为如此，成就当今欧盟的事件也是以一种毫不引人注目的方式发端，即法国和德国与战争生产直接相关的煤钢产业的整合。正是在经济一体化进行到一定阶段时，欧洲才开始了在政治一体化方面最初的严肃努力。