jeanie the EU's origins were absolutely not as a trade organisation.
The purpose of the three pioneers of the EU: Robert Schumann (France), Kondad Adenauer (Germany) and the often forgotten one, Alcide Gaspari of Italy when they came together in the wake of 2 world wars in 20 years was to find a new way forward towards peace and harmony between European nations.
Apart from the ideas of federation, confederation, or customs union or what Winston Churchill's in 1946 calledr a "United States of Europe", the original development of the European Union was based on a supranational foundation that would "make war unthinkable and materially impossible" and reinforce democracy amongst its members[ as laid out by its leaders in the Schuman Declaration (1950) and the Europe Declaration (1951.
And the European has succeeded in meeting the objectives set out in those early years after WW2. Between 1870 and 1945, 75 years, there were three major European wars. Between 1945 and 2020 there have been none and none are in the offing.
Yes, there have been other wars on the periphery of Europe but none of the major European states have been at war with each other.
The EU is not a dictatorship because it has a freely elected Parliament and any member can walk out at any time (the No deal option). The one country to choose to do this(the UK) has chosen to ease itself out, choosing to enter negotiations in order to have its cake and eat it.
As a remainer I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that No deal is the best option and should have happened at the end of 2016