Meaning of 'to' in 'to + inf' and conjunction 'as'

Hello, experts? I hope you are doing fine.

Here I am back again with another question...

I would appreciate it if you could clarify the meaning of 'to + inf" and conjunction 'as' in the following sentence.

Would you read the following? I have trouble clarifying the meaning of 'to' and 'as'.

" When two nations meet, said Montesquieu, they can do one of two things: they can wage war or they can trade. If they wage war, both are likely to lose in the long run. If they trade, both will gain. That, of course, was the logic behind the establishment of the European Union: to lock together the destinies of its nations, especially France and Germany, in such a way that they would have an overwhelming interest not to wage war again as they had done to such devastating cost in the first half of the twentieth century. "

1) Regarding 'to' , could it be something like 'to' in 'enough ~ to inf' as in "He is smart enough not to do that."?

In this sentence, does 'to + inf' constitute a meaning, combined with 'overwhelming'?

2) Talking about 'as', is the highlighted 'as' used to say how something happens or is done, or to indicate that something happens or is done in the same way as something else?

I would appreciate it if you could enlighten me. Repeated reading didn't help me with this.

So here I am asking for your help. Thank you for your precious time.