The lecture focuses on historical dynamics and development of the EU since the beginning (Paris and Rome Treaties) until today. The lecture explains the historical background of the European Union, the roots and the stems of European integration. It opens up the enlargements and the growing of the union telling the most important events and movements since 1951. History of the European Communities and now the European Union iscrucial knowledge in understanding how EUropean Union works today. Lecturer: Kristian Lau Nielsen. Lecture is filmed in autumn 2010.