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International Organizations
It is made up of all member states, each with one vote, regardless of size, wealth, or power.
UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members with veto power and 10 chosen (five each year) for two years terms.
Five permanent members of Security Council are; China, Russia, France, England (UK), and United States of America (USA)
UN Specialized Agencies
UNICEF UNIDO UNDP UPU IFAD IDA WHO ILO ICAO WMO UNCTAD IBRD FAO UNESCO ITU IAEA IMF IFC
UN Secretarait
Headed by by the secretary-general, the secretariat carries out day-to-day administrative functions of UN.
Criticism of UN:
1) There are no Muslim countries in the Security Council. 2) Africa and Latin America do not have representatives in the Security Council. 3) Economically powerful states like Japan and Germany are not in the Security Council. 4) Important states like Brazil, Nigeria, and India want to have a place in the Security Council. 5) Security Council is composed of the victorious states of the Second World War.
Multilateral Banks
African Development Bank is trying to support private enterprises in Africa. Asean Development Bank is trying to develop the most underdeveloped regions in Asia. Inter-American Development Bank finances projects in Latin America and Caribbean. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) intends to aid East European transition economies. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is the World Bank.
Greenpeace
It is a non-profit organization with a presence in 40 countries. It focuses on the most crucial worldwide threats to our planets biodiversity and environment. It campaigns to; Stop climate change, Protect ancient forests, Save the oceans, Stop whaling, Say no to genetic engineering, Stop the nuclear threat, Eliminate toxic chemicals, Encourage sustainable trade.
Rainbow Warriors
They call themselves Rainbow Warriors and argue that; when the last tree is cut, the last river poisoned, and the last fish dead, we will discover that we can not eat money.
GATT Principles
1) Reciprocity If one country reduces its tariffs against another, the second country must likewise lower its tariffs. 2) Nondiscrimination Members must not grant one country preferential trade treatment over others. Most-favored-nation rule must apply to all the members. 3) Transparency Members are expected to replace non-tariff barriers (whose effects are hard to measure and detect) with tariffs, which are open to scrutiny and thus more easily reduced through further negotiations.
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1) Hard loans are made and repayable in hard, convertible currencies at market interest rates with normal market maturities. They are secure loans not exceeding 25 years.
International Finance Corporation is World Banks investment department. IFC finances industries like fertilizers, synthetic fibers, tourism, and paper and cotton fabric. It developed capital market in Brazil.
2) Soft loans can be paid back in soft, nonconvertible currencies, carry low or no interest obligations, are usually long-term up to 40 years and may have grace periods up to 10 years during which no payments are required.
International Development Association (IDA) provides these loans. Soft loans are given to countries with per capita income less than $750 a year. It is to help the poorest LDCs which need loans to develop, but they can not carry hard currency burden.
The world went through many economic and crises after 1971.
Some solutions to debt crises: Debt default is when countries can not pay their debts; debts are turned into bad debts.
Debt rescheduling is when countries cannot pay their debts on time, debts are rescheduled.
ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
According to Bela Balassa (The Theory of Economic Integration, 1961), there are five degrees of economic integration. At each succeeding state, members surrender a greater measure of their national sovereignty.
EU Enlargement
Treaty of Rome was signed by six founding states: W. Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Benelux States). In 1973, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark joined. Following enlargements: Greece (1981), Spain and Portugal (1986), Austria, Finland, and Sweden (1995), Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Malta, Cyprus Greek Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Check Republic, and Poland (2004), Romania and Bulgaria (2007).
EU hell or heaven?
Heaven if, Policemen Cooks Beer Brewers Lovers Organization Hell if, Policemen Cooks Beer Brewers Lovers Organization English French German Italian Swiss
Altiero Spinelli, an Italian resistence fighter is the father of the idea of a united Europe.
In 1944, he argued for a federal Europe with a written constitution, a supranational govenment directly responsible to the people of Europe and not national governments, along with an army under its control, with no other military forces being permited.
EU organizational structure
1) 2) Council of Ministers is the policy setting body of the EU. It is made up of prime ministers of the member states. They meet periodically at summits. European Parliament is the elected body of the EU. The members of the EP are elected by the citizens of the member countries. The representation in the EP is according to the population sizes of the countries. European Commission is the beurocracy of the EU. There are about 20,000 beurocrats and technocrats working in Brussels. European Court of Justice is the legal organ of the EU. It is deciding on issues raised against Treaty of Rome (against Nice Agreement after it is passed from the parliaments of the member states). Its authority supersedes the decisions of the courts in the member states.
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Maastricht Treaty
It was signed on 1991 by 12 EU member states. It was a committment to future United States of Europe. Its goals were monetary and economic union with European Central Bank and a single currency replacing national currencies.
Maastricht Treaty set out five convergence criteria which member states must satisfy before they can accede to European Monetary Union (EMU):
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) Inflation rates should be no more than 1.5% above the average of the three EU countries with the lowest interest rates. Long-term interest rates should be no more than 2% above the average of the three EU countries with the lowest interest rates. National currencies must not have been devalued and must have remained within the normal (15%) bands of the EMS for the previous two years. National budget deficits must be less than 3% of GDP. National debt must be less than 60% of GDP.