歐盟南向政策之發展屬於多面向議題之整合，而非單一政策發展。它是一種以經貿利益為主的功能性合作，且其中西班牙與法國兩國運作痕跡非常明顯。故本文以「新功能主義」與「自由派政府間主義」兩種論述來詮釋歐盟南向政策發展的幾個關鍵環節。其用意並非討論或爭辯兩理論差異，而是釐清那一個統合模式較適合運用在歐盟南向政策的哪些議題與哪些階段，作為後續發展之參考。在架構安排上主要分為五個部分：除前言外，其次探討「新功能主義」與「自由派政府間主義」兩統合理論模式之辯證；第三敘述歐體∕歐盟地中海政策的歷史發展脈絡；第四節試圖就兩理論找出歐盟南向政策最佳解釋方式；最後做出總結。

The European Union’s Southward Policy consists of a number of multithematic integration issues, rather than a single policy. It functions as a means of promoting cooperation and interstate bargaining outcomes, especially between Spain and France. This article focuses mainly on the critical moments of the EU’s Mediterranean policy based on neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism.The focus is not on discussing or debating the two theories, but analyzing “which model” is suitable for “what issues” of the EU’s Southward policy. The content is
divided into five sections: the introduction; an analysis on the divergence between neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism; an explanation of EC/EU Mediterranean policies since the 1960s; an attempt to define the best model for the EU’s Southward policy based on the two theories; and a final concluding section.