Regional integration fifty years after the treaty of Rome. The EU, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Boening, Astrid B and Domínguez, Roberto and Genna, Gaspare M. and Gómez-Mera, Laura and Barbarinde, Olufemi and Grenade, Wendy and de Oliveira, Marcos Aurelio Guedes and Kanner, Aimee and Roy, Roy and Thiel, Markus and Weber, Katja (2008) Regional integration fifty years after the treaty of Rome. The EU, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence, Miami, FL. ISBN 159388320

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Abstract

The European Union has been the pioneer and undisputed leader of regional integration processes. Since its inception in the 1950s, following the Schuman Declaration that set in motion Jean Monnet’s innovative idea to join together European coal and steel industries, Europe has offered a useful model for regional integration. Strengthened by the 1957 Treaty of Rome (exactly half a century ago), this bold entity was later transformed into the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty. Having successfully accomplished its primary goal (“to make war unthinkable and materially impossible”), the EU is currently facing challenges associated with its expansion and the deepening of its pooled sovereignty. On the other hand, the effects of the EU in international relations are of paramount relevance. While the forceful transposition of national and regional structures into other regions is a historical error, the essence of the EU as a model to be adapted by other regions is a viable approach to enhance stability and welfare. In this regard, this volume examines the current challenges of the EU and the perspectives of regional integration in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

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