Abstract
The European economic integration has been an ongoing process for nearly a half
century. This article discuss initially the concept of integration and then gives an
overall assessment of the development of integration on various areas. Evidence
points to a remarkable process towards monetary integration especially in the last
decades. The significant increase of the intra-EU trade also points to a more
integrated Europe especially since the establishing of the internal market.
However, the integration seems to have less impact on other areas e.g.
synchronisation of the business cycles between Member States and convergence of
living standards. Prospects for the future development of integration is also
discussed in the article.