european union

NORWAY IN 1994 VOTED AGAINST JOINING EUROPEAN UNION









WHICH ARE THE COUNTRIES THAT ARE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION BUT AWAY FROM WUROZONE--
DENMARK

Organizations

The eurozone officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency and sole legal tender. Theeurozonecurrentlyconsistsof Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

ESTONIA—IS THE FIRST FORMER SOVIET REPUBLIC TO ADOPT THE EURO.


the fifth euro zone country to seek financial assistance from the European Union's bail-out funds as its banking sector is hit by exposure to the crisis in Greece----Cyprus

first--greece
second--ireland
third---portugal
fourth--spain
fifth--cyprus

EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union (EU) ⁱ/ˌjʊərrəˈpiːənˈjuːniən/ is an economic and political entity and confederation^[10][11] of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe.^[12] The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community(ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by six countries in 1951 and 1958 respectively. In the intervening years the EU has grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993. The latest amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009. The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states. Within theSchengen Area (which includes 22 EU and 4 non-EU states) passport controls have been abolished.^[17] EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital,^[18] enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and maintain common policies on trade,^[19] agriculture,^[20] fisheries and regional development.^[21] A monetary union, theeurozone, was established in 1999 and is composed of 17 member states. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policythe EU has developed a limited role in external relations and defence. Permanent diplomatic missions have been established around the world. The EU is represented at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8 and the G-20

1992 1993 Maastricht Treaty

1997 1999 Amsterdam Treaty

2001 2003 Nice Treaty

2007 2009 Lisbon Treaty

EU combat group formed by France, Germany and Poland
France, Germany and Poland joined forces to form a joint European Union combat group
Agreement signed in Brussels, 4 days after Poland assumed the rotating EU presidency
EU maintains a rotation of rapid reaction forces, known as Battle Groups, to be positioned in
cases of emergency, though they have not yet been called into action
The new unit will be known as the Weimar Triangle Combat Group
Weimer Triangle Combat Group to become available in 2013
Poland will command the group
Poland will provide a majority of the 1,700 soldiers
Germany will provide logistical support
France will contribute medical support
Operational command of the unit to be located near Paris, in Mount Valerien, France





EU provides grant worth EUR 4 million to Nepal
Current Affairs Published on www.gktoday.in from January 1, 2012 to
September 10, 2012
EU to furnish a grant aid of 4 million Euros to Nepal. This grant will be utilized forNepal Food Security Monitoring
System (NFSM) over a period of 4 years. NFSM established in 2002 and is presently managed by WFP in
collaboration with Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives as a comprehensive food
security monitoring system with the main aim as Collection, Consolidation and Analysis of food security
data that is thereafter utilized by the decision makers. This data collected allowing the decision makers to take
synchronized and well timed action to alleviate food insecurity Nepal.








EU agreed in principle to ban import of Iranian oil
 The European Union has agreed in principle to ban import of Iranian crude oil to put pressure on Iran for its
nuclear programme. The move will be announced in the end of January 2012.
 United States, which recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, has welcomed the news, however, Iran has
dismissed the threat of new sanctions and denies Western claims that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapons
programme.





The EU leaders have decided to use the Eurozone's permanent bailout funds to
support struggling banks directly, without raising government debt.
EU leaders also agreed that bailout funds could be utilized to stabilize financial
markets, which implies buying government debts or bonds. These are steps that
Spain and Italy desired, to curtail their borrowing costs , which both consider as their
most serious economic problem.
Objective: The move is targeted specifically at rescuing Spain's troubled banks.







India, European Union join hands for Anti-Piracy Military Operations
 India and the European Union (EU) have joined hands for launching joint military operations in the Indian Ocean
against piracy activities. EU has deployed four warships and supporting military ships of EU member-countries
and is engaged with the Indian Navy in developing synergy in the region. India-EU summit is scheduled to be held
in New Delhi on February 10, 2012 where security is going to be one of the key issues of discussion.


























India to partner European Nations in Social Science Research
The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), for the first time, collaborate with four European countries in
multi-lateral Social Science research. The projects for networking and social science research cooperation in b/w the
researchers of these nations have been approved.
Who are these organizations?
The organizations with which India will collaborate are:
 The French Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)
 The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFGGerman Research Foundation)
 The UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
 The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
The social scientists will be provided with national funds for building collaborations with European Partners via a
scheme. The programme is expected to economize and rationalize the efforts of Europe towards production of high
practicality and quality research on social science that can take on to the challenges posed by the global arena in terms
of growth, economy, development, climate change, well being and health.
The targeted six proposals that have been supplied with the funds after being analyzed pertain to wellbeing, ageing,
bullying, mapping the cultural authority of science, globally accessible medicine, climate governance and pupil-safety.