aim - to promote economic, social, and political coordination
members - (5) Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo
countries in transition: a term used by the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) for the middle group in its hierarchy of advanced economies,
countries in transition, and developing countries; recently published
IMF statistics include the following 28 countries in transition:
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, The Former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and
Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,
Uzbekistan; note - this group is identical to the group traditionally
referred to as the "former USSR/Eastern Europe" except for the addition
of Mongolia
Customs Cooperation Council (CCC): note - see World Customs
Organization (WCO)
developed countries (DCs): the top group in the hierarchy of developed
countries (DCs), former USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE), and less
developed countries (LDCs); includes the market-oriented economies of
the mainly democratic nations in the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), Bermuda, Israel, South Africa, and
the European ministates; also known as the First World, high-income
countries, the North, industrial countries; generally have a per capita
GDP in excess of $10,000 although four OECD countries and South Africa
have figures well under $10,000 and two of the excluded OPEC countries
have figures of more than $10,000; the 34 DCs are: Andorra, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, NZ,
Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey, UK, US; note - similar to the new International Monetary Fund
(IMF) term "advanced economies" which adds Hong Kong, South Korea,
Singapore, and Taiwan but drops Malta, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey
developing countries: a term used by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) for the bottom group in its hierarchy of advanced economies,
countries in transition, and developing countries; recently published
IMF statistics include the following 126 developing countries:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba,
The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan,
Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China,
Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the
Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia,
Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica,
Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia,
Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall
Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia,
Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua,
Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay,
Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi
Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia,
South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania,
Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, Uganda,
Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe; note -
this category would presumably also cover the following 46 other
countries that are traditionally included in the more comprehensive
group of "less developed countries": American Samoa, Anguilla, British
Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos
Islands, Cook Islands, Cuba, Eritrea, Falkland Islands, French Guiana,
French Polynesia, Gaza Strip, Gibraltar, Greenland, Grenada,
Guadeloupe, Guam, Guernsey, Jersey, North Korea, Macau, Isle of Man,
Martinique, Mayotte, Montserrat, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk
Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico,
Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tokelau, Tonga, Turks
and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Virgin Islands, Wallis and Futuna, West
Bank, Western Sahara
East African Development Bank (EADB): established - 6 June 1967;
effective - 1 December 1967
aim - to promote economic development
members - (3) Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): established - 26 June 1945;
effective - 24 October 1945
aim - to coordinate the economic and social work of the UN; includes
five regional commissions (Economic Commission for Africa, Economic
Commission for Europe, Economic Commission for Latin America and the
Caribbean, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific,
Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia) and nine functional
commissions (Commission for Social Development, Commission on Human
Rights, Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Commission on the Status of
Women, Commission on Population and Development, Statistical
Commission, Commission on Science and Technology for Development,
Commission on Sustainable Development, and Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice)
members - (54) selected on a rotating basis from all regions
Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (CEPGL): note -
acronym from Communaute Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs
established - 20 September 1976
aim - to promote regional economic cooperation and integration
members - (3) Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): established - 28
May 1975
aim - to promote regional economic cooperation
members - (15) Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria,
Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO): established - 27-29 January
1985
aim - to promote regional cooperation in trade, transportation,
communications, tourism, cultural affairs, and economic development
members - (10) Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
associate member - (1) "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus"
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): note - an integral part of the
European Union; also known as the European Economic and Monetary Union
proposed - 1-2 December 1969 at summit conference of heads of
government; signed - 7 February 1992 - Maastricht Treaty
aim - to promote a single market by creating a single currency, the
euro; timetable - 2 May 1998: European exchange rates fixed for 1
January 1999; 1 January 1999: all banks and stock exchanges begin using
euros; 1 January 2002: the euro goes into circulation; 1 July 2002
local currencies no longer accepted
members - (12) Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain; note -
Denmark, Sweden, and UK decided not to join
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC): note - began as the North
Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC); an extension of NATO
established - 8 November 1991; effective - 20 December 1991
aim - to discuss cooperation on mutual political and security issues
members - (46) Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, UK, US,
Uzbekistan
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD): established -
8-9 January 1990 (proposals made); 15 April 1991 (bank inaugurated)
aim - to facilitate the transition of seven centrally planned economies
in Europe (Bulgaria, former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania,
former USSR, and former Yugoslavia) to market economies by committing
60% of its loans to privatization
members - (62) Albania, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, EU, European Investment Bank
(EIB), Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea,
Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, The Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia,
Morocco, Netherlands, NZ, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia,
Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, UK, US, Uzbekistan
European Community (or European Communities, EC): was established 8
April 1965 to integrate the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom),
the European Coal and Steel Community (ESC), the European Economic
Community (EEC or Common Market), and to establish a completely
integrated common market and an eventual federation of Europe; merged
into the European Union (EU) on 7 February 1992; member states at the
time of merger were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK
European Free Trade Association (EFTA): established - 4 January 1960;
effective - 3 May 1960
aim - to promote expansion of free trade
members - (4) Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland
European Investment Bank (EIB): established - 25 March 1957; effective
- 1 January 1958
aim - to promote economic development of the EU and its predecessors,
the EEC and the EC
members - (15) Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, UK
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN): note - acronym
retained from the predecessor organization Conseil Europeenne pour la
Recherche Nucleaire
established - 1 July 1953; effective - 29 September 1954
aim - to foster nuclear research for peaceful purposes only
members - (20) Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
observers - (7) European Commission, Israel, Japan, Russia, Turkey,
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), US