This article presents an analytical framework to advance the comparative study of regional integration processes and to give a proper place to the EU within the field of regional integration studies. It is argued that a single theory of regional integration is not possible and that in order to compare different integration processes a distinction needs to be made between three generations of regionalism: i) integration by removing (economic) barriers; ii) integration by building a supranational structure and (iii) integration by building a geopolitical identity. This framework allows to better situate the EU towards other integration schemes in the world: as an exponent of first generation regionalism, the EU can be studied as one of many hundreds integration schemes; as a form of second generation integration the EU can only be compared to a limited number of cases and with regard to third generation regionalism the EU is a N = 1 case.