Nevertheless, it is useful to compare economic disparities in the EU with those in the United States to assess regional convergence in Europe – bearing in mind, of course, that the US has been a nation-state for more than two centuries, while the EU is best seen as a confederation of 27 states under a supra-national structure.
然而，将欧盟内部的经济差异与美国各州的经济差异进行对比来评估欧洲的地区差异是很有用的，当然，应该记住，美国建国已经有两个世纪了，而欧盟最多只是一个在超国家架构下的27个国家的联盟。