Market Building through Regional Integration Agreements: the EU and the Asean Way

We define the internal market of a regional integration agreement as a legal order that is based on the rule of law. A regional integration agreement is a particular case of market building in that it creates a new market with new rules. The ability to change the participating institutions is essential. A key issue consists in verifying that a constitutional change is possible as well as adapting the local institutions to the new constitution. In comparing the case of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, we rely on the assumption that a shared goal can be achieved with different solutions that consider the starting point of participating states. In terms of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, we consider the possible absence of centralized powers