Abstract

This article examines the evolution of European economic unity from the formation of the European Council in 1949 through the Maastricht Treaty. The steady increase in European economic integration demonstrates the triumph of the ideas of economic liberalism and free trade over those of mercantilism and protectionism. Moreover, European regional economic integration has not come at the price of increased international trade; on the contrary, the two have tended to re-enforce one another. Hopefully, both trends will continue.