substantial differences in income in much of Western Europe compared to the
newest members which were formerly in the Soviet bloc.
But perhaps the one factor that makes an Asian Union an impossibility for
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the time being is pulation. The Chinese population on its own is over twice
the size of the European Union. One of the continual issues within the
expansion of the EU is whether there is a size at which large-scale political
union becomes impractical. The break-up of the Soviet Union, it could be
argued, was an example of why it is not a good idea to have political or
economic union among too many diverse states and peoples.