欧洲一体化与世界多极化

European Integration and the World Multipolarization

In 1999, the European Union made a world-spotlighted progress in its integration. It mainly reflected the successful realizion of the common currency, the beginning of the common European defense build-up and the quickening pace of its eastward expansion. Just as what the “Germany factor” had played in the European single currency, the Kosovo crisis was an incentive to the common defense construction by the EU. The fundamental motive force to the deep development of the European integration is that the EU seeks to sit as equals at the same table with the US and act as a “powerful pole” in the multipolar world. At the same time, the integration also gave an active impetus to the development of the world’s multipolarization. Due to the big differences between the EU and the US in many fields, especially in their economy, the EU’s rise would certainly exert some strong restraint and restriction to the US attempted efforts in maintaining a “singlepolar world” and dominating the world affairs, thus pushing forward the course of developing the world’s multipolarization.