* European Union (EU)
The European Union is composed of 28 member states, please find below basic information on the country’s political system, history, economy, geography and the year of entry: Austria (1995), Belgium (1952), Bulgaria (2007), Croatia (2013), Cyprus (2004), Czech Republic (2004), Denmark (1973), Estonia (2004), Finland (1995), France (1952), Germany (1952), Greece (1981), Hungary (2004), Ireland (1973), Italy (1952), Latvia (2004), Lithuania (2004), Luxembourg (1952), Malta (2004), Netherlands (1952), Poland (2004), Portugal (1986), Romania (2007), Slovakia (2004), Slovenia (2004), Spain (1986), Sweden (1995) and United Kingdom (1973).
On the road to EU membership:
– Candidate Countries: Iceland, Montenegro, Serbia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey
– Potential candidates: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* (* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence).
The political centers of the European Union are in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg.
The European Union has several institutions:
* European Parliament
* European Council
* Council of the European Union
* European Commission
* Court of Justice of the European Union
* European Court of Auditors
* European Economic and Social Committee
* Committee of the Regions
* European Central Bank
* European Investment Bank
* European Investment Fund
* European Ombudsman
* European Data Protection Supervisor
* Inter-institutional bodies:
– Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
– European School of Administration
– European Personnel Selection Office
– Publications Office
* Agencies and other EU bodies:
A very interesting information visualization web site that provides the reader with valuable statistics: Atlas of European Values.
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* The European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) include: Iceland, Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Governing Body of EFTA:
– EFTA Council: This body regulates the different activities of EFTA.
– EFTA Court: This body supervises the activities of the member countries of EFTA with regard to its responsibilities in the European Economic Area (EEA). Switzerland is not a member of EEA and so it does not take part in the EFTA Court activities.
– EFTA Surveillance Authority: This body acts as the “ Guardian of Treaties” for the member countries of EFTA. In its formative years EEA did not have the EFTA Court or the EFTA Surveillance Authority. The roles assigned to these bodies were carried out by the European – Court of Justice and the European Commission.
Headquarters of the Governing Bodies:
– EFTA Secretariat: Geneva, Switzerland
– EFTA Surveillance Authority: Brussels, Belgium
– EFTA Court: Luxembourg
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* The European Economic Area (EEA)
The European Economic Area (EEA) is an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), excepting Switzerland, and the European Union (EU) established on 1 January 1994.
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* The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an trade bloc agreement signed by United States, Canada and Mexico and came into force on 1 January 1994.
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* Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC or EurAsEC)
The Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC or EurAsEC) originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia on 29 March 1996. The Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community was signed on 10 October 2000.
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* The Latin America
The Latin America knows several forms of ambitious economic and political integration blocs in recent years, from which we count:
– Latin American Integration Association (known as ALADI or, occasionally, by the English acronym LAIA)
– Central American Integration System (Spanish: Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana SICA)
– Mercosur or Mercosul (Spanish: Mercado Común del Sur, Portuguese: Mercado Comum do Sul, Guaraní: Ñemby Ñemuha, English: Common Southern Market)
– The Union of South American Nations (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Amerikaanse Naties – UZAN, Portuguese: União de Nações Sul-Americanas – UNASUL, Spanish: Unión de Naciones Suramericanas – UNASUR)
– The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Spanish: Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, CELAC, Portuguese: Comunidade de Estados Latino-Americanos e Caribenhos, French: Communauté des États Latino-Américains et Caribéens)
– The Andean Community (Spanish: Comunidad Andina – CAN)
– The Pacific Alliance. The Pacific Alliance (Spanish: Alianza del Pacífico) is a Latin American trade bloc, with some features of further integration. Its current member states are Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Costa Rica began the process of joining the Alliance on 10 February 2014.
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* The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
The Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS) is a regional organization created in December 1991 and whose participating countries are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.
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* The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is a political and economic union of the Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf and located on or near the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
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* South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an organisation of South Asian nations, which was established on 8 December 1985 when the government of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka formally adopted its charter providing for the promotion of economic and social progress, cu ltural development within the South Asia region and also for friendship and co-operation with other developing countries.
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* Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC)
The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program is an Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported initiative which was established in 1997 to encourage economic cooperation among countries in the Central Asian region. In particular, cooperation among the ADB member states of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
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* The Southern African Development Community (SADC)
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization of 15 southern African states and its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation.
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* Southern African Customs Union (SACU)
The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.
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* The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) brings together 15 states in the Caribbean, including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Haiti, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Lucia, Suriname, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
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* The East African Community (EAC)
The East African Community (EAC) is the regional intergovernmental organisation of the Republics of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Rwanda and Republic of Burundi with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
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* The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) comprises of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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* The United Nations System
The United Nations System consists of the United Nations (UN), its subsidiary organs (including the separately-administered funds and programmes), the specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations.
The United Nations System is based on five principal organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council (UNSC), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice. Regional commissions: Europe (ECE), Africa (ECA), Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Western Asia (ESCWA)
Specialized Agencies:
– International Development Association (IDA)
– International Finance Corporation (IFC)
– Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
– International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— * The Commonwealth The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries from six regions: Africa (19); Asia (8); the Americas (3); the Caribbean (10); Europe (3); and the South Pacific (11).There are three intergovernmental organisations:
- Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER)
- Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC)
- Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO)
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)
- European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (FRONTEX)
- European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (IT Agency) – currently being set up
- European Asylum Support Office (EASO)
- European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
- European Banking Authority (EBA)
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
- European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)
- European Chemicals Agency (ECHA)
- European Environment Agency (EEA)
- European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
- European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND)
- European GNSS Agency (GSA)
- European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)
- European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)
- European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
- European Medicines Agency (EMA)
- European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
- European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA)
- European Police College (CEPOL)
- European Police Office (EUROPOL)
- European Railway Agency – promoting safe and compatible rail systems (ERA)
- European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA)
- European Training Foundation (ETF)
- European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
- Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (OHIM)
- The European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit (EUROJUST)
- Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CdT)
- European Defence Agency (EDA)
- European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)
- European Union Satellite Centre (EUSC)

- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Bank Group & International Monetary Fund (IMF)
– International Development Association (IDA)
– International Finance Corporation (IFC)
– Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
– International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- Universal Postal Union (UPU)
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
- International Trade Centre (ITC)
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (OHCHR)
- United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
- World Food Programme (WFP)
- UN Women (UNW)
- United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
- United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
- United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- UNCCD – United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
- UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- UNCLOS – United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established bodies:
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
- United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
- United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
- United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC)
- United Nations University (UNU)
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— * The Commonwealth The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 countries from six regions: Africa (19); Asia (8); the Americas (3); the Caribbean (10); Europe (3); and the South Pacific (11).There are three intergovernmental organisations:
- Commonwealth Secretariat – executes plans agreed by Commonwealth Heads of Government through technical assistance, advice and policy development;
- Commonwealth Foundation – helps civil society organisations promote democracy, development and cultural understanding;
- Commonwealth of Learning – encourages the development and sharing of open learning and distance education.
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* Financial Stability Board (FSB) The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is an international entity that makes recommendations to improve the global financial system. It was established in April 2009 as a successor to the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) and includes all G-20 major economies, FSF members, and the European Commission. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— * The World Economic Forum (WEF) The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— * Union of International Associations (UIA) The Union of International Associations (UIA) is a non-profit, apolitical, independent, and non-governmental organization in the research, monitoring and provision of information on international organizations, international associations and their global challenges. Publicly the UIA is best known for the Yearbook of International Organizations; the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential; the International Congress Calendar; and its former journal Transnational Associations. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Bibliography: the official webpages of the above mention organisms, organizations etc and Wikipedia. —————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
#1 by klfirlik on February 2, 2013 - 12:47 PM
The question I have, “Do you market logistics data base control boards?” Example would be, “Analytic Dashboards?”
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#2 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on February 6, 2013 - 1:26 PM
Hi, no, I’ve never did.
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#3 by keithadams60 on February 26, 2013 - 2:22 AM
Thanks for dropping by my blog. Also, thanks for this gem of international trade info, I am sure I will be back often.
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#4 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on March 15, 2013 - 2:22 PM
Thank you very much for your comment!
I’m looking forward to seeing you around soon!
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#5 by leah j. wolfe on March 16, 2013 - 10:40 PM
Reposted this link. Your site is an amazing source of information. Thank you for your work.
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#6 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on March 19, 2013 - 11:43 AM
Thank you so much for your kind words!
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#7 by jridirectmarketing on April 22, 2013 - 4:59 PM
Thank you for your comments on my blog. I found yours to be very informative and useful as well. I will be returning to check your updates!
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#8 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on April 28, 2013 - 10:09 AM
Hi,
Thank you very much for your kind words. It’s very kind of you, it’s very encouragement.
Looking forward to seeing you again!
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#9 by twv2 on July 5, 2013 - 8:50 PM
Amazing source of information – wish I had found this when I was researching info for my Univ essay on the role of France within the EU. How do you keep it up-to-date? Fabulous, thanks for your hard work on this.
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#10 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on July 25, 2013 - 6:36 PM
Hi, thank you for stepping by and comment. Well, I have saved various sites and I check them like twice a week. Not easy.
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#11 by philrydman on September 2, 2013 - 6:56 PM
Thank’s for visiting our website!
All good!
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#12 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on September 16, 2013 - 9:50 AM
Thank you too! Regards!
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#13 by kaymetviner on February 7, 2014 - 6:09 AM
I never thought I would find information on all of these institutions in one place – thank you for compiling and updating!
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#14 by Bogdan Marius Beleuz on February 26, 2014 - 10:07 AM
Thank you for visiting and comment also!
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