End of the Cold War The events of the late 1980’s greatly altered the political and economical landscape of Europe. They brought dramatic changes as well as revealing much uncomfortable continuity from the past. The decade threw up as many new difficulties as it did gains. Together these presented the EU with many challenges that few expected when the Berlin Wall was breached. Challenges of the 1990’s Initially the seemed to be very welcome. This led people to believe that further integration could be achieved inside the EC and the EFTA states. Western states were in the position to completion and there was only expected to be a small decline in growth as