ABSTRACT

On the economic front, a deepening of integration will enhance the advantages of European Union's (EU) internal market and protect its members against external and domestic shocks by creating symmetry across the regions. This chapter analyzes the determinants of European integration, from 1980 to the present, to determine which factors are important at which stage of integration. For the dependent variable, regional integration, the Integration Achievement Score (IAS) is used. For the operationalization of the independent variables, hierarchy, values convergence, and trust in the EU are used. The second independent variable for integration is the convergence of social values. The third independent is the amount of trust citizens of member states have towards the European Union. The nature of integration produces long periods of several years when there are no changes in the IAS's value. For the EU to move beyond its current challenges and achieve stablel fiscal and political union, trust in the EU must improve among the citizens.