In the light of the current economic debt crisis within the Euro zone, the heterogeneity of EU members has becoming increasingly apparent. This heterogeneity is evident not only in some single macroeconomic variables but also in the overall level of European economic integration. Despite the common use of the term “European integration”, neither a uniform definition nor a holistic economic approach to this concept exists. Thus, the different steps and processes of European integration are hard to quantify, thereby making it almost impossible to argue objectively whether an individual EU member state has fallen behind the general speed of European integration or whether the distance to a potential core group is undesirably large. In order to fill this gap, we have developed a composite indicator – the EU-Index – measuring the extent of European economic integration for each EU member state.
- To find out more about the concept of European integration and about the development of the EU-Index, please read our working paper.
- The most recent ranking as well as developments in integration levels over time can be viewed here.
- Methodology and measurment strategies are presented in more detail here.
