Integrarea economică regională este un factor care contribuie la as-censiunea globalizării, deoarece creează condiţii pentru circulaţia liberă a mărfurilor, serviciilor, capitalului, forţei de muncă şi duce la intensificarea interdependenţei economice a ţărilor, la crearea unei pieţe mondiale unice. Pe de altă parte, integrarea regională asigură participanţilor la acest proces un regim economic şi comercial preferenţial, ce atenuează anumite instrumente regulatorii universale (de exemplu, regimul comercial unic promovat de OMC). Evoluţia contemporană a relaţiilor economice internaţionale poate fi caracterizată prin tendinţe contradictorii: de unificare şi, totodată, de dezbina-re. Vectorul centripet al mişcării este reflectat de procesul de globalizare; vectorul centrifug – de integrare regională şi apropiere a ţărilor vecine.

Regional economic integration is a factor that contributes to the rise of globalization due to the fact that it creates conditions for free movement of goods, services, capital, labor and leads to an enhanced economic inter-dependence of countries towards the creation of a single global market. On the other hand, the regional integration process ensures to its members a preferential trade and economic regime that mitigates certain universal regulatory instruments (e.g. the unique trading system promoted by the WTO). Contemporary developments in international economic relations can be characterized by contradictory tendencies of unification, as well as of division. Centripetal motion vector is reflected by globalization process while the centrifugal vector is common to regional integration and proximi-ty of neighboring countries.