This paper suggests that the benefits of market integration project reach an asymptotic limit in the realm of close communities when adherence to the same values is critical to achieve internal market reform rather than the other way round. An optimal context of market integration is hypothesized as a territory circumscribed by economic frontiers within which jurisdictions are willing, on the one hand, to share resources with other members to reap the benefits from externalities and economies of scale, and, on the other hand, are able to target policy initiatives at a geographical scale that reflect directly regional commonality. This theoretical framework is illustrated with a discussion of Romania as a country case by drawing on cluster analysis and trade integration data.