This research focuses on the development of the European Union and on the primary treaties that have been adopted over time and have helped define the goals and structure of the European Union. A comparative content analysis of additions and amendments to primary European Union treaties provides a metaperspective of the treaty process, revealing a pattern of EU development, shedding light on EU integration and on the extent that incremental changes to the treaties may be the manifestation of an evolving shared vision within the European Union. Also considered is the role of text in reifying belief systems and legitimizing institutions. The analysis confirms that the economic foundations established with the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952, and with the European economic Community in 1958 continue to be at the heart of the European Union even as the European Union has expanded into non-economic areas.