WT5BZ] The purpose of this paper is to investigate the development of international competitiveness of the EU service sector in the process of European integration First, some existing theories of international competitiveness of the service sector in relation to the types of international service competition, the internationalisation of competition in service, and the determinants of international competitiveness of the service sector are reviewed. A cross country study on the role of service sector in determining the international competitiveness of nations is carried out and the empirical results of panel data analysis supports some of the famous theoretical assumptions in the literature. The influences of the European integration process on the development of the international competitiveness in the service sector in the EU are discussed. Finally, the international competitiveness of three EU service industries, banking, insurance and tourism, are evaluated. [WT4”HZ][
