Abstract
1. European integration has moved forward on a step-by-step basis, from Free Trade Area, Customs Union, and Common Market to Economic Union and is entering into the final stage of Complete Economic Union.
2. A historical review of European integration illustrates that three major factors have contributed to the successful deployment of the integration: strong political initiatives by relevant European leaders; active challenges in view of instituting the common market in the region from the beginning of the integration process, in particular in the area of agriculture; and successive monetary adjustment policies within member nations, followed by policy coordination in completing the monetary union.
3. Introducing an exclusive Common Agricultural Market in Europe preceded the institution of the overall Common Market and played an essential role in laying the ground for both the Common Market and European Economic Union. The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is instrumental in maintaining the function of Common Agricultural Market. Fine-tuning of the CAP has been arranged in timely accordance with the increase in the number of member countries as well as in the wake of over-supply of farm products, budget crisis and international policy debates in the forum of the WTO and others.
4. A history of European integration provides many good lessons for the challenge of Asian regional integration.
