儘管在許多層面上，歐盟之出現及擴大，與歐洲過去的整合行動方案沒有什麼不同，但在一點意義上與過去截然不同--也即它是歐洲為因應全球化而產生的新治理型態，故有所謂「新區域主義」（New Regionalism）之稱。換言之，經濟整合雖是戰後歐洲區域整合最成功的一環，但是經歷五０至七０年代，此一區域整合過程並未發生「新功能主義」（New Functionalism）所謂的「擴散效應」（spill-over effect）。 造成整合受阻的原因，外有包括布列頓森林體系瓦解、兩次石油危機造成各國紛採保護措施、歐洲無法脫離美國主導的「北大西洋公約組織」（NATO）的約束，內有各主權國力拒歐洲政治聯盟的產生，出現所謂的「盧森堡妥協」（Luxembourg Comprise），從而導致歐洲會議須採「一致決」的議事規則。 本文即在探討，在七０年代中期歐洲整合已趨停滯情勢下，歐洲各國如何重新整合乃至在九０年代訂立「單一歐洲法」（Single European Act），建立了如今涵蓋歐洲地區二十七國的強大聯盟。此其中，國際政經環境中「美元衰微」及「冷戰落幕」之雙重轉型，提供外在環境，而各國為避免受困於「停滯性膨脹」以致結束凱因斯政策、重返經濟自由主義路線則構成歐洲國家內在政策的匯合。當然，促成歐洲聯盟形成原因甚多，不過歐洲在全球化競爭中居明顯劣勢地位仍是歐洲整合再出發的最主要推動力，本文指出各國政策匯合因素只能算是新區域整合的必要條件，仍非充分條件，最大因素仍應是歐洲各國為因應全球化挑戰形成的新區域整合，也即藉助於讓渡部分主權，歐盟各國因而更能擴大本身的職能，於此，兩岸似亦應從中獲得相當啟示才是。

European Union is totally new in a sense that it emerges and enlarges as a governance model which adapts the changing state of the globalization. Hence, only till now the term of "New Regionalism" appears. In other words, in the period of 1950s to 1970s there was no such thing as political integration which was the spill-over effect of the economic integration of European Community, a result of which New Functionalists had ever predicted. The reasons of retardations of the European Integration are many: the collapse of Bretton Woods System and the burst of two oil Crises had made European countries protect their own economies and lower the will to integrate with each other. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) dominated by the U. S. has also replaced the possible defense project for the European countries. Besides, deciding to sustain their own sovereignties the European countries made "Luxembourg Comprise", which gave member states of EC the veto power to the subjects concerning to their vital national interests. This paper discusses why the European Union could be reunion when the Single European Act (SEA) had been approved in the end of 1950s after a long stagnation of regional integration since the middle of the 1970s. This paper argues that the decline of the U.S. dollars and the decline of the Cold War provided the economic and political environment for European countries to integrate. For encouraging the economic incentives, major European countries' ruling parties ended the policies of Keynesian School and constructed a relative convergence for a European-wide laissez-faire economic policy. However, the most important impetus for the building of the European Union is the less strengthened role of the European region in the global competitiveness. For yielding Part of their sovereignties, EU countries can enlarge their capacity, and survive much stronger in a global World.