Final answer:
The European Coal and Steel Community was established to encourage economic growth and peace in postwar Europe by creating a common market for coal and steel and reducing trade barriers among its members, paving the way for further economic integration and the inception of the EU.
Step-by-step explanation:
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created to foster economic integration and preserve peace among six European nations after World War II—West Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. They aimed to stimulate economic growth and make war between them unthinkable by creating a common market for coal and steel which allowed these products to move freely across their borders without customs duties or restrictions.
Furthermore, the success of the ECSC laid the groundwork for wider economic integration, leading to the formation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957, which sought to extend the principles of cooperation and unencumbered trade to other sectors beyond coal and steel. These organizations are key antecedents of the current European Union (EU), which has expanded its integration efforts to include a common currency and the free movement of goods, labor, and capital across member states.