While integration in Europe could be seen partly as a regional process of the much wider global phenomenon of trade integration, visionary political leadership also played its role in accelerating the integration of the product, labour and capital markets.
In the field of economics, theory and practical experience gained in the 1970s and 1980s led to a convergence of ideas and greater belief in the virtues of stability-oriented macroeconomic policies. As a result, we see less volatility in market variables such as interest rates and exchange rates.