Integration of Environmental Aspects in Regional and Interregional Trade Agreements

By the end of 1999 there were almost 120 regional free trade agreements registered with the WTO. Approximately one third of these had been concluded in the last ten to twelve years. Only a small number of the integration agreements between developing countries had been able to keep to their time schedules. Some have been revived by newer initiatives. The continued success of the EU is, in the light of the just as continuous extension and intensification of the integration, an exceptional phenomenon in the international field. The intensity of integration in the numerous regional agreements is very varied. Most instances are free trade zones. The number of customs unions and (real) single markets is small.