Economic and monetary union

The economic union is the fifth stage of economic integration between countries, in addition to a common market, there is also a coordination of economic policies in which, often between adjacent States in the region.

This means that not only goods, capital and labor may move freely within the Union (production factor mobility), but also the sovereignty in economic policy needs to be partially abandoned in favor of the Union. Often the pace for economic integration were to economics Union the major powers in a region. The weaker states won vice versa participation and influence. Overall, the region was strengthened at regional groupings against other regions.

A well-known economic union is or was the European Economic Community, and in it, for example, the Common Agricultural Policy. Another example is the economic union between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic in 1990, before the reunification.

Even deeper integrations lead to monetary union, different type of association to political union.