The European Union-
(a) After the Second World War, the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OECC) was established by America, under the Marshall Plan.
(b) The process of economic integration of European capitalist countries proceeded systematically and the Council of Europe was established in 1949.
(c) This led to the formation of the European Economic Community in 1957. After the collapse of Soviet bloc, EuropeanUnion was established in 1992.
(d) It has its own flag, anthem, founding date and currency. European Union was the world’s largest economy in 2005. It had a GDP of more than US $ 12 trillion in 2005.
ASEAN-
(a) Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967 by five countries of this region –Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand by signing the Bangkok Declaration.
(b) ASEAN countries have adopted the “ASEAN Way” as a form of interaction that is informal, non-confrontationist and cooperative.
(c) In 2003, ASEAN moved along the path of establishing an ASEAN Community comprising three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.
(d) ASEAN had several agreements in place by which member states promised to uphold peace, neutrality, cooperation, noninterference and respect for national differences and sovereign rights. ASEAN economy is growing much faster than other countries.
(e) ASEAN has focused on creating a Free Trade Area (FTA) for investment, labor and services. ASEAN Vision 2020 had defined an outward- looking role for ASEAN in the international community. ASEAN policy has been to encourage negotiation over conflicts in the region.
