After World War II, Europe was in ruins. From these circumstances a vision of a unified Europe was born, and thus the initial steps of the European Union (EU) took place from 1945 to 1952. This technical note discusses the events of the years leading to the EU’s beginnings, including the reasons for unification and the early economic cooperation. The note also introduces students to the concept of fiscal federalism and provides a framework to consider how resources and tasks can be allocated to different levels of government.