When the European Union (EU) was formed and expanded, member nations began to do what in order to deal more effectively with cross border crime and security issues?

Introduction / Context:
The European Union (EU) is a regional organisation that brings many European countries together for economic, political, and social cooperation. Over time, the EU has encouraged the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital across internal borders. With this increased movement, it became more important for member states to work together on security and crime prevention. This question asks what nations began to do when the European Union formed, focusing especially on how they responded to cross border law enforcement challenges.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question concerns the formation and development of the European Union.
• The key issue is how EU countries reacted in terms of law enforcement and cooperation.
• The options include extreme and unrealistic changes, such as eliminating governments or all borders, as well as a more moderate and realistic form of cooperation.
• The learner is expected to choose the option that accurately reflects real EU practice.

Concept / Approach:
EU member states did not abolish their national governments or completely erase all borders. Instead, they kept their own political systems but agreed to work more closely together in certain areas. One of those areas is justice and home affairs, where countries coordinate to fight crimes that cross borders, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, and human smuggling. They share information, harmonise some laws, and assist each other in policing and judicial matters. This is very different from creating one single education system or a full EU only army. Therefore, the correct approach is to choose the option that mentions cooperation on law enforcement.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Note that the European Union is a union of states that still keep their own governments and parliaments. 2. Understand that the EU supports the free movement of people and goods, which means crime can more easily cross borders if states do not cooperate. 3. Recall that EU countries have developed joint policing efforts, shared databases, and agreements on extradition and criminal justice. 4. Examine the options and identify the one that describes countries cooperating on law enforcement. 5. Reject options that talk about eliminating national governments, abolishing all borders, or creating a single education system, because these do not match actual EU practice. 6. Select cooperation on law enforcement as the accurate description of what nations began to do.
Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, learners can recall reading or hearing about EU level agencies and agreements that help fight cross border crime. While national police forces still exist, they increasingly work together, share information, and coordinate activities. The EU did not wipe out national governments or impose one education system on all member states. Instead, it used treaties and institutions to encourage collaboration on issues that no single country can handle alone. This pattern confirms that cooperation on law enforcement is the best answer among the options given.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Eliminating home governments would mean the end of national states, but the EU is built on cooperation between separate states, not on their complete removal.
Abolishing all geographic boundaries is not accurate; while many internal border controls have been relaxed, borders still exist and can even be temporarily reinforced.
Creating a single education system ignores the fact that member states retain control over their own schools and curricula, with only limited coordination at EU level.
Adopting a single army fully controlled only by the European Union has not happened; defence remains mainly in the hands of individual states, sometimes coordinated through NATO.

Common Pitfalls:
Some students imagine the EU as a kind of super state and assume it has completely taken over all functions of member countries. Others may think that the removal of many border checks means that borders themselves have disappeared. To avoid these misunderstandings, it is important to remember that the EU focuses on cooperation and coordination rather than total unification. In this question, cooperation on law enforcement is the key realistic change that matches what actually happened after the union formed.

Final Answer:
The correct answer is Cooperate more closely on law enforcement and policing across borders.