Seventy-seven years ago today, on May 7, 1948 (March 29, 1948), the first Congress of the European Unity Movement opened. On May 7, 1948, the first Congress of the European Unity Movement opened. World War II deprived Europe of its long-standing central position on the international stage. As a result, organizations with the purpose of European unity emerged in Europe. The "United Europe Movement" organization headed by Churchill was established in the United Kingdom; famous French politicians led the formation of the "French Commission for the European Union"; West Germany also established the "European Union". At the end of 1947, the unification organizations of European countries jointly established the "International Committee of the European Unity Movement", and on May 7, 1948, the first conference of the European Unity Movement was held in The Hague with about 800 representatives from Western European countries. Among the representatives were famous politicians such as Churchill, Renault, and Herriot, as well as many industrialists, scholars, and professors. The resolutions passed by the conference included the establishment of a European political and economic union; the European Parliament was composed of representatives selected by the parliaments of the member states.