ABSTRACT
The consolidation o f European unity since the signing o f the Treaty o f Maastricht in 1992, along with the contemporary mushrooming o f integrating regions all around the world, illustrate a significant new phenomenon. This is the way most nation-states are choosing, at the turn o f the century, to deal with new challenges that risk placing their previous positions in jeopardy. Some o f the larger regional entities are the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Common Market o f the South (Mercosur or Mercosul). All o f these initially - if not as maximum aspiration - aimed at becoming free trade zones, in order to increase both their intra-regional trade and investment flows and the competitive position o f their member countries vis-a-vis the global markets. Notwithstanding these common goals, some o f the newly created regions have attempted to go further, Mercosur being the most ambitious in this respect.
