Fifty years ago, the EU cracked the secret of its current success

When six western European countries including France and West Germany created the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958, their combined population accounted for a touch under 6% of the world’s then 3bn people. A lot has happened in the ensuing 65 years, from German reunification to an extra billion or so Indians and several rejiggings of the global order. One constant has remained: the club today known as the European Union represents a touch under 6% of the world’s now 8bn people.