Yes, "ever closer union". Before the UK joined in 1973, the EEC - European Economic Community - was generally called The Common Market, indicating it to be an economic association, and this is how most UK politicians tried to sell it. The problem is that this "intended scope" was not limited within the treaty, which was not easily accessible by the public for reading and evaluation. The treaty certainly wasn't limited to trade and economics either!
By 2016 there were plenty signs that the aim of a single European state was indeed real and that's a big reason why there was a leave vote.