# data[].attributes.body
EU is not an optimal currency area

# data[].attributes.body
loss of control over national monetary policy

# data[].attributes.body
increases the range of investment options open both to individuals and institutions

# data[].attributes.body
gives a strong boost to the development of highly liquid pan-European capital market

# data[].attributes.body
it is easier to compare prices across Europe, so firms are forced to be more competitive

# data[].attributes.body
savings from having to handle one currency, rather than many

# data[].attributes.body
Is The Euro A Good Thing?

# data[].attributes.body
Britain, Denmark and Sweden opted out

# data[].attributes.body
used by 16 of the 27 member states

# data[].attributes.body
created the second largest currency zone in the world after that of the U.S. dollar

# data[].attributes.body
The Maastricht Treaty committed the EU to adopt a single currency

# data[].attributes.body
The Court of Justice - the supreme appeals court for EU law

# data[].attributes.body
The European Parliament - debates legislation proposed by the commission and forwarded to it by the council

# data[].attributes.body
The Council of the European Union - the ultimate controlling authority within the EU

# data[].attributes.body
The European Commission - responsible for implementing aspects of EU law and monitoring member states to ensure they are complying with EU laws

# data[].attributes.body
The European Council - resolves major policy issues and sets policy directions

# data[].attributes.headline
POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

# data[].attributes.subject
POLITICAL STRUCTURE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

# data[].attributes.body
provided the impetus for the restructuring of substantial sections of European industry allowing for faster economic growth than would otherwise have been the case

# data[].attributes.body
was born out of frustration among EC members that the community was not living up to its promise

# data[].attributes.body
committed the EC countries to work toward establishment of a single market by December 31, 1992

# data[].attributes.body
The European Economic Community (1957) was formed at the Treaty of Rome with the goal of becoming a common market

# data[].attributes.body
Forerunner was the European Coal and Steel Community (1951)

# data[].attributes.body
Members wanted lasting peace and to hold their own on the world’s political and economic stage

# data[].attributes.body
The devastation of two world wars on Western Europe prompted the formation of the EU

# data[].attributes.body
occurs when higher cost suppliers within the free trade area replace lower cost external suppliers

# data[].attributes.body
occurs when low cost producers within the free trade area replace high cost domestic producers

# data[].attributes.body
it implies a loss of national sovereignty

# data[].attributes.body
while a nation as a whole may benefit from a regional free trade agreement, certain groups may lose

# data[].attributes.headline
Regional economic integration is only beneficial if the amount of trade it creates exceeds the amount it diverts

# data[].attributes.subject
Regional economic integration is only beneficial if the amount of trade it creates exceeds the amount it diverts

# data[].attributes.headline
Economic integration can be difficult because 

# data[].attributes.subject
Economic integration can be difficult because 

# data[].attributes.headline
4. The Case against Regional Integration

# data[].attributes.subject
4. The Case against Regional Integration

# data[].attributes.body
Gives countries greater political clout when dealing with other nations

# data[].attributes.body
Creates incentives for political cooperation and reduces the likelihood of violent conflict

# data[].attributes.body
Linking countries together, making them more dependent on each other

# data[].attributes.body
All countries gain from free trade and investment - regional economic integration is an attempt to exploit the gains from free trade and investment

# data[].attributes.body
The EU is headed toward at partial political union

# data[].attributes.body
A political union involves a central political apparatus that coordinates the economic, social, and foreign policy of member states

# data[].attributes.body
European Union (EU)

# data[].attributes.body
An economic union has the free flow of products and factors of production between members, a common external trade policy, a common currency, a harmonized tax rate, and a common monetary and fiscal policy

# data[].attributes.body
Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay

# data[].attributes.body
A common market has no barriers to trade between member countries, a common external trade policy, and the free movement of the factors of production

# data[].attributes.body
Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru

# data[].attributes.body
A customs union eliminates trade barriers between member countries and adopts a common external trade policy

# data[].attributes.headline
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 

# data[].attributes.subject
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) 

# data[].attributes.body
U.S., Canada, and Mexico

# data[].attributes.body
Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland

# data[].attributes.body
A free trade area eliminates all barriers to the trade of goods and services among member countries

# data[].attributes.body
agreements between countries in a geographic region to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to the free flow of goods, services, and factors of production between each other

# data[].attributes.headline
1. What Is Regional Economic Integration?

# data[].attributes.subject
1. What Is Regional Economic Integration?