Translated from Latin, “integration” means a merger, a combination of individual parts into a whole, general, unified. The general definition of the term can be formulated as a union, rapprochement or merging of parts, forming a common, single whole, but at the same time preserving its identity.
Countries can come together, forming various alliances, for example, trade, economic, political, cultural and so on, thereby preserving their national identity. The main goal of integration can be called expanding the volume of goods and services that are based on the effective provision of activities, for example, integration processes in trade.
Integration also includes in its
definition processes and phenomena in different spheres of life of society and the state: political, cultural, economic and others. Integration processes in the modern world are examples of movement, the development of a certain system in which the connection of participants becomes stronger, while their independence decreases, new forms of interaction begin to appear. Both earlier and now, in the era of modern technology, integration processes are accompanied by significant progress in science, economics, culture and even politics.
The development of such processes in the modern world at micro and macro levels is the most important sign of integration. At the micro level, integration occurs through the interaction of the funds of individual companies and enterprises through the formation of economic agreements, transactions and agreements between them, through the creation of branches in other countries. Integration processes can also be created in other areas besides the economic one. At the macro level, integration is global and regional. It is based on the development of the global market, production and communications.
In the modern world in the economic sphere there are several forms and types of integration processes. One of the simplest forms is a free trade zone . In such a zone, various trade restrictions between the countries participating in the union are canceled, and trade duties are also removed. The second form can be called a customs union. In addition to the free trade zone, it also establishes a foreign trade tariff that is uniform for all, and pursues a foreign trade policy in relation to other countries.
The third, more complex form of the integration process is the common market. It provides the participants of the union with free mutual trade, and a single foreign trade tariff, freedom of movement of labor and, accordingly, capital, as well as coordination of economic policies. And finally, the highest form of interstate integration in the field of economics is the economic and monetary union, which combines all the above forms of integration. At this stage, political integration with its single governing bodies appears.
Along with the integration processes, special associations also arise, the peculiarity of which is their successful development at the regional level.