The EU Index of Integration Effort

Regardless of the strides that have been made by the European Union (EU) in terms of economic integration, levels of heterogeneity of the economies have been growing. There appears to be divergence between hub/spoke core/peripheral countries. This increase chasm between the core and periphery should be of concern to policy makers especially those in Brussels. The growing rift between these countries is compromising the aspirations of the EU to forge an ever-closer union. The author suggests that to reduce the economic heterogeneity between the core and the periphery of European integration the European Commission should promote further liberalization of the EU single market.