ABSTRACT
Since the completion of the Single European Market (SEM) the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty of the European Union (TEU), and the Treaties of Amsterdam and Nice, European integration has embarked on a new economic and political period. As the 'uniting of Europe' continues the politico-economic structures of the European Union (EU) 1 and its member states are vastly transformed. While monetary integration is part of the agenda, perceived with a mixture of hope and trepidation, common EU policies are developed in an attempt to give regional answers to sectoral (meso) economic problems.
