Regional integration processes are meant to provide a peaceful and Regional Integration The European Union arena in which sovereign countries voluntarily combine their efforts in areas of mutual concern, creating common regional interests and objectives. Models and ideas, however, do not always result in concrete actions or significant accomplishments. Even the most developed institutional exercise of regional integration, the European Union (EU), is commonly overwhelmed by the contradictions and The European Union obstacles of the institutional architecture and the interests of the member states. The construction of the EU has continued for more than five decades and remains an unfinished project. Despite its ebbs and Regional Integration and flows, the assessment of the European integration process is positive and still at the forefront of regional integration experiences. In that regard, what lessons can be learned in the Americas from the European experience? What are the peculiarities and prospects of the integration processes in the Western Hemisphere? What are the conditions necessary for developing integration processes? Some ideas and responses to these questions are provided in the articles of this book, grouped in four sections: hemispheric integration, North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America. The contributors demonstrate that integration in the sub-regions of the Americas has progressed in varying degrees, Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez (Editors) and that each integration process is characterized by particular circumstances that constrain further institutional developments, legitimacy and credibility. Regional integration in both Europe and the Americas is a work in progress, and therefore, scholarly exercises A Comparative Perspective of the kind included in this book serve not only as a reflection and and Lessons for the Americas analysis of what currently exists and how it has developed, but also as a consideration for future developments. Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez (Editors) The European Union and Regional Integration A Comparative Perspective and Lessons for the Americas The European Union and Regional Integration A Comparative Perspective and Lessons for the Americas Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez (editors) Jean Monnet Chair University of Miami European Commission Regional integration processes are meant to provide a peaceful and Regional Integration The European Union arena in which sovereign countries voluntarily combine their efforts in areas of mutual concern, creating common regional interests and objectives. Models and ideas, however, do not always result in concrete actions or significant accomplishments. Even the most developed institutional exercise of regional integration, the European Union (EU), is commonly overwhelmed by the contradictions and The European Union obstacles of the institutional architecture and the interests of the member states. The construction of the EU has continued for more than five decades and remains an unfinished project. Despite its ebbs and Regional Integration and flows, the assessment of the European integration process is positive and still at the forefront of regional integration experiences. In that regard, what lessons can be learned in the Americas from the European experience? What are the peculiarities and prospects of the integration processes in the Western Hemisphere? What are the conditions necessary for developing integration processes? Some ideas and responses to these questions are provided in the articles of this book, grouped in four sections: hemispheric integration, North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and South America. The contributors demonstrate that integration in the sub-regions of the Americas has progressed in varying degrees, Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez (Editors) and that each integration process is characterized by particular circumstances that constrain further institutional developments, legitimacy and credibility. Regional integration in both Europe and the Americas is a work in progress, and therefore, scholarly exercises A Comparative Perspective of the kind included in this book serve not only as a reflection and and Lessons for the Americas analysis of what currently exists and how it has developed, but also as a consideration for future developments. Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez (Editors) ISBN 0-9638678-6-5 Ediciones Imprimatur Copyright 2005. Jean Monnet Chair University of Miami. All rights reserved. No portion of the contents may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publishers. Contents Introduction . 7 Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez North America NAFTA: Assessments and Institutional Development . 23 Roberto Domínguez North America: Three Nations, a Partnership, or a Community? . 37 Robert A. Pastor North America Security: A Community or an Identity? . 55 Alejandro Chanona The Future of Mexican-U.S. Economic Relations: Is the EU a Model for North America? . 73 Gustavo Vega Cánovas Comparing Canada, the European Union, and NAFTA: Comparative Carpers and Constitutional Conundrums . 97 Steven B. Wolinetz Central America and the Caribbean Prospects for the Central American Customs Union . 113 Fernando Rueda-Junquera The Politics of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) . 135 Eric Jacobstein The European Union and the Caribbean: The Case of Cuba . 145 Joaquín Roy An Overview of Regional Governance Arrangements within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) . 167 Wendy Grenade Internal Political Tribalism and Regional Integration in the Caribbean . 185 David Hinds 6 South America European Union External Relations with the Andean Community: A Governance Approach . 203 Aimee Kanner The Role of Networks in the European Union’s Foreign Policy toward Colombia . 217 Roberto Domínguez Understanding Mercosur and its Future . 235 Félix Peña Mercosur: Political Development and Comparative Issues with the European Union . 247 Marcos Aurelio Guedes de Oliveira Hemispheric Integration The Uniqueness of the FTAA from an EU Perspective . 261 Joaquín Roy Reflections on the Development and Prospects of the FTAA: Does It Relate to the European Experience? . 271 Ambler H. Moss The FTAA: Current Status and Prospects . 281 Jeffrey Schott Strategic Hemispheric Objectives for the Next Decade from a European Perspective . 293 Karl Buck About the Authors . 309 Introduction Joaquín Roy and Roberto Domínguez Regional Integration: A Flexible Concept The aspiration of regional integration processes is to become a space of conciliation between the creation of regional common goods and national interests, cultures, practices and policies. Models and ideas, however, do not always sublimate in concrete actions; even the most developed institutional exercise of regional integration, the European Union (EU), is commonly overwhelmed by the contradictions and obstacles of the institutional architecture and the interests of the member states. The construction of the EU has taken more than five decades and is still an unfinished project aimed at the creation of welfare. Despite its flows, the assessment of the European integration process is positive and still at the forefront of regional integration experiences. In that regard, what lessons can be learnt in the Americas from the European experience? What are the peculiarities and prospects of the integration processes in the Western Hemisphere? How many models of integration are there? What are the conditions for developing integration processes? Some tentative answers are drawn in the articles of the present book, which is the result of the conference “The European Union and Regional Integration: A Comparative Perspective and Lessons for the Americas,” held on April 8, 2005, at the University of Miami, under the sponsorship of the European Commission. Each one of the contributors shows that integration in the sub-regions of the Americas has several degrees of progress as well as different particular circumstances which constrain further institutional developments, legitimacy and credibility. From the perspective of this introduction, assuming that the EU can provide some positive ideas for the integration in the Americas, three key conceptualizations can be pondered as crucial in the institutional development of the EU: state, region and integration. The first element has to do with the political practices in the state. Having in mind the horrors and the human suffering of the wars during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the European state has voluntarily pooled sovereignty in a number of areas as a shield against the external world. Scholars have indeed contributed to this debate by proposing the post or neo-modern European state. Under those lenses, the basic premises of the European state can be summarized 8 Roy and Domínguez as follows: a) a breakdown of the distinction between domestic and foreign affairs; b) mutual interference in traditional domestic affairs and mutual surveillance; c) rejection of force for resolving disputes and the consequent codification of rules of behavior; d) growing irrelevance of borders; and e) security based on transparency, mutual openness, interdependence and mutual vulnerability. The question that arises in this aspect is whether or not a more flexible conceptualization of sovereignty is needed in the Western hemisphere to move forward in the regional cooperation and integration processes. The second element debated in the chapters is the conceptualization of region. The predominant perception