INPROFORUM 2014

The paper aims at providing some evidence at current level of homogeneity and convergence among the EU states from the perspective of trade and factor mobility measures.  In particular, the paper examines whether the EU countries make internally homogenous clusters and to what extent they differ. Also the convergence or divergence tendencies among pre-determined clusters of the EU core, periphery and new EU countries comprising of the CEE countries are analysed and assessed. Finally, the paper intends to shed some light on contribution of the periphery and CEE countries to rising or decreasing heterogeneity in the European Union from the perspective of selected trade and factor mobility measures comprised in the dimension of Single market and openness. The cluster analysis, particularly the agglomerative Ward method with squared Euklidean distance, is the main research method.  The results show that the EU countries differ to a small extent and disparities among them have been diminishing from the perspective of trade and factor mobility over the integration period