State Of The Union For businesses seeking foreign partners with strong economies and fluid trade, the EU may be the place.

While people from Rome to London are bragging about the growingeconomic clout of the European Union (EU), U.S. entrepreneurs aredoing some boasting of their own. Why? European unity translatesinto opportunities for Yanks as well.

"The fact that EU countries are working more closelytogether means the market is going to get bigger," says JanOffner, director of business development at the Dallas branch ofthe Flanders Foreign Investment Office (FFIO), an organizationmaintained by the Belgian state of Flanders to attract foreigntrade. "This is good news for everybody."

Phil Combs, a specialist with the Trade Information Center atthe U.S. Department of Commerce, predicts the market will be betteras well. "It's making it easier for U.S. entrepreneurs todo business [in Europe]," he says. "They're able tobe more efficient because they're dealing with more centralizedtrade practices and a common currency."