While the economic crisis currently unfolding in Europe could have proved enough to tear the European Union apart, it may become a catalyst of closer ties. European leaders have announced that they are seeking to further their commitment to each other by becoming more closely tied economically.

These leaders, such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, want to create “a true European economic government” made up of European heads of state and headed by the president of the European Union. They would also seek to have the 17 countries incorporate a balanced budget into their constitutions.

The move hearkens back to the origins of the European Union, which started with the European Coal and Steel Community, which linked the steel and coal industries (industries which were fundamental to war materials production) in France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. This union slowly morphed into the European Economic Community, which eventually gave way to the European Union.

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