The EU was always intended to be politically controlling. Even way back in 1957, the Treaty of Rome instituted a common agricultural policy and the bureaucracies to micromanage it. It also had the Commission, Parliament and other assorted bureaucracies in place to dictate all the terms of their “free trade” allegedly without barriers.
I don't think many of the early members believed it would reach the extent that it has. Also, I think many of the countries that joined were joining for trade reasons. The politics kept encroaching as new Directives were passed.