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Andorra
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Created under a charter in 988, the present principality was formed in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a monarchy headed by two Co-Princes – the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain, and the President of France. Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 and its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, Andorras tourism services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the official currency and it has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. In 2013, the people of Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world at 81 years, the origin of the word Andorra is unknown, although several hypotheses have been formulated. The word Andosini or Andosins may derive from the Basque handia whose meaning is big or giant, the Andorran toponymy shows evidence of Basque language in the area. Another theory suggests that the word Andorra may derive from the old word Anorra that contains the Basque word ur, another theory suggests that Andorra may derive from Arabic al-durra, meaning The forest. Other theories suggest that the term derives from the Navarro-Aragonese andurrial, la Balma de la Margineda found by archaeologists at Sant Julia de Loria were the first temporal settled in 10000 BC as a passing place between the two sides of the Pyrenees. The seasonal camp was located for hunting and fishing by the groups of hunter-gatherers from Ariege. During the Neolithic Age the group of humans moved to the Valley of Madriu as a permanent camp in 6640 BC, the population of the valley grew cereals, raised domestic livestock and developed a commercial trade with people from the Segre and Occitania. Other archaeological deposits include the Tombs of Segudet and Feixa del Moro both dated in 4900-4300 BC as an example of the Urn culture in Andorra, the model of small settlements begin to evolved as an complex urbanism during the Bronze Age. We can found metallurgical items of iron, ancient coins and relicaries in the ancient sanctuaries scattered around the country, the inhabitants of the valleys were traditionally associated with the Iberians and historically located in Andorra as the Iberian tribe Andosins or Andosini during the VII and II centuries BC. Influenced by Aquitanias, Basque and Iberian languages the locals developed some current toponyms, early writings and documents relating this group of people goes back to the second century BC by the Greek writer Polybius in his Histories during the Punic Wars. Some of the most significant remains of this era are the Castle of the Roc dEnclar, lAnxiu in Les Escaldes and it is known the presence of Roman influence from the II century BC to the V century AD. The places found with more Roman presence are in Camp Vermell in Sant Julia de Loria, people continued trading, mainly with wine and cereals, with the Roman cities of Urgellet and all across Segre through the Via Romana Strata Ceretana. After the fall of the Roman Empire Andorra was under the influence of the Visigoths, not directly from the Kingdom of Toledo by distance, the Visigoths remained during 200 years in the valleys, a period in which Christianization takes place within the country. The fall of the Visigoths came from the Muslim Empire and its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Andorra remained away from these invasions by the Franks
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Emmanuel Macron
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Emmanuel Macron is a French politician, senior civil servant, and former investment banker. Born in Amiens, he studied Philosophy at Paris Nanterre University and he went on to become an Inspector of Finances in the Inspectorate General of Finances before becoming an investment banker at Rothschild & Cie Banque. He resigned in August 2016 in order to launch a bid in the 2017 presidential election, in November 2016, Macron declared that he would run in the election under the banner of En Marche. A centrist movement he founded in April 2016, born in Amiens, Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron is the son of Jean-Michel Macron, Professor of Neurology at the University of Picardy, and Françoise Macron-Noguès, a physician. He was educated mostly at the Jésuites de la Providence lycée in Amiens before his parents sent him to finish his last year of school at the high school Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. He studied Philosophy at the University of Paris-Ouest Nanterre La Défense and he obtained a Masters degree in Public Affairs at Sciences Po, before training for a senior civil service career at the École nationale dadministration, graduating in 2004. Macron worked as an Inspector of Finances in the French Ministry of Economy between 2004 and 2008, in 2007, he served as deputy rapporteur for the Commission to improve French growth headed by Jacques Attali. While an investment banker, Macron closed a deal between Nestlé and Pfizer, which in part allowed him to amass a small fortune reportedly in the region of €2,800,000. Macron was a member of the Socialist Party from 2006 to 2009, in 2015, he stated that he was no longer a member of the PS and was now an Independent. From 2012 to 2014, he served as deputy secretary-general of the Élysée and he was appointed Minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Data in the second Valls Cabinet on 26 August 2014, replacing Arnaud Montebourg. As Minister of the Economy, Macron was at the forefront of pushing through business-friendly reforms, in February 2015, he pledged that the government would force through reforms despite opposition from the parliament. On 30 August 2016, Macron resigned from the government ahead of the 2017 presidential election and this came shortly after he founded his own progressive political movement, En Marche. An independent political party, for which he was reprimanded by President Hollande, Macron founded En Marche. in Amiens, the city of his birth. On 16 November 2016, Macron formally declared his candidacy for the French presidency after months of speculation, in his announcement speech, Macron called for a democratic revolution and promised to unblock France. He eventually laid out his 150-page formal program on 2 March, publishing it online, as well as numerous others – many of them from the Socialist Party, but also a significant number of centrist and centre-right politicians. Macron has been described by observers as a social liberal. Macron has notably advocated in favor of the market and reducing the public-finances deficit. He first publicly used the term liberal to describe himself in a 2015 interview with Le Monde and he added that he is neither right nor left and that he advocates a collective solidarity
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Roman Catholic Diocese of Urgell
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The Diocese of Urgell is a Roman Catholic diocese in Spain and Andorra, with origins in the fifth century AD or possibly earlier. It is based in the region of the historical Catalan County of Urgell, the seat and Cathedral of the bishop are situated in la Seu dUrgell town. The state of Andorra is a part of this diocese, among its most notable events are Bishop Felixs adoptionist revolt, the coup of Bishop Esclua and the overthrowing of the bishop by members of aristocratic families between the years 981 and 1122. Andorra was ceded to the Bishop of Urgell by the Count Ermengol VI of Urgell in 1133, up to 1802, the ecclesiastical border corresponded with the royal one established under the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. As such the 33 towns of the northern Cerdanya came under the dioceses control, the Roman Catholic Church controls the metropolitan church of Tarragona, with its see or capital of the Seu d’Urgell. It contains 7630 km² and a population of 200,761 according to the 2000 census and is the largest bishopric of the eight that have a see in Catalonia, in contrast, it is the most sparsely populated. The diocese borders the bishoprics of Vic, Solsona, Lleida, Barbastro-Monzón, Toulouse, Pamiers and Perpignan. The diocese totally or partially occupies the Ripollès, Cerdanya, Alt Urgell, Segarra, Urgell, Pla dUrgell, Noguera, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Alta Ribagorça, the bishopric’s jurisdiction extends to 408 parishes, although today some have a very reduced population. Almost all of the come from distant times, as the very titular saints of their churches. The most common are Saint Mary, Saint Peter, Saint Martin, Saint Saturninus, Saint Steven, Saint Michael, Saint Andrew, Saint Julian, Saint Eulalia, Saint Vincent and Saint Felix. Many churches of the bishopric, parochial or not, conserve elements of architectural interest. In 1874 the sixty-odd towns that formed the erstwhile exempt jurisdictions of Gerri, Mur, Montodó-Bonrepòs, the order of Saint John of Jerusalem and Meià were annexed to the diocese. Finally, in 1956, the gained the seven parishes of the Artesa de Segre enclave and gave up the 19 of the Franja de Ponent to Lleida and Barbastre. The diocese, without excluding the possibility of a more remote origin, was constituted at the beginning of the 6th century. The first known bishop, Saint Justus, figures among the participants of the councils of Toledo, Lleida and his successors also took part regularly in the Toledo councils celebrated throughout the 7th century. The Episcopal succession, despite the uncertainty of names and chronology, monasticism must have been introduced into the diocese during the Visigothic period. The monasteries of Tavèrnoles, Gerri, Codinet, and Tresponts are probably anterior to the Saracen invasion and this became the norm for monastic life in the following century. These monasteries, alongside the parochial and canonical organization would greatly influence the Christianization of the country and its human, cultural and economic development
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President of France
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The President of the French Republic, is the executive head of state of the French Fifth Republic. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the prime minister, the current President of France is François Hollande, who took office on 15 May 2012. Hollande has announced that he stand down in the upcoming 2017 French presidential election. President Chirac was first elected in 1995 and again in 2002, at that time, there was no limit on the number of terms, so Chirac could have run again, but chose not to. He was succeeded by Nicolas Sarkozy on 16 May 2007, following a further change, the Constitutional law on the Modernisation of the Institutions of the Fifth Republic,2008, a president cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. François Mitterrand and Jacques Chirac are the only Presidents to date who have served a two terms. In order to be admitted as a candidate, potential candidates must receive signed nominations from more than 500 elected officials. These officials must be from at least 30 départements or overseas collectivities, furthermore, each official may nominate only one candidate. There are exactly 45,543 elected officials, including 33,872 mayors, spending and financing of campaigns and political parties are highly regulated. There is a cap on spending, at approximately 20 million euros, if the candidate receives less than 5% of the vote, the government funds €8,000,000 to the party. Advertising on TV is forbidden but official time is given to candidates on public TV, an independent agency regulates election and party financing. After the president is elected, he or she goes through an investiture ceremony called a passation des pouvoirs. The French Fifth Republic is a semi-presidential system, unlike many other European presidents, the French President is quite powerful. The president holds the nations most senior office, and outranks all other politicians, the presidents greatest power is his/her ability to choose the prime minister. When the majority of the Assembly has opposite political views to that of the president, when the majority of the Assembly sides with them, the President can take a more active role and may, in effect, direct government policy. The prime minister is then the choice of the President. This device has been used in recent years by François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, since 2002, the mandate of the president and the Assembly are both 5 years and the two elections are close to each other. Therefore, the likelihood of a cohabitation is lower, among the powers of the government, The president promulgates laws
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Value-added tax
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VATs raise about a fifth of total tax revenues both worldwide and among the members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As of 2014,160 of the worlds approximately 193 countries employ a VAT, there are two main methods of calculating VAT, the credit-invoice or invoice-based method and the subtraction or accounts-based method. The credit-invoice method is the most widely employed method, used by all national VATs except for Japan. The subtraction method VAT is currently used by Japan, although subtraction method VATs. With both methods, there are exceptions in the method for certain goods and transactions, created for either pragmatic collection reasons or to counter tax fraud. Initially directed at businesses, it was extended over time to include all business sectors. In France, it is the most important source of state finance, in this way, the total tax levied at each stage in the economic chain of supply is a constant fraction of the value added by a business. The standard way to implement a value-added tax involves assuming a business owes some fraction on the price of the product minus all taxes paid on the good. By the method of collection, VAT can be accounts-based or invoice-based, under the invoice method of collection, each seller charges VAT rate on his output and passes the buyer a special invoice that indicates the amount of tax charged. Buyers who are subject to VAT on their own sales, consider the tax on the purchase invoices as input tax, the difference between output tax and input tax is paid to the government. Under the accounts based method, no such specific invoices are used, instead, the tax is calculated on the value added, measured as a difference between revenues and allowable purchases. Most countries today use the method, the only exception being Japan. By the timing of collection, VAT can be either accrual or cash based, cash basis accounting is a very simple form of accounting. When a payment is received for the sale of goods or services, a deposit is made, cheques are written when funds are available to pay bills, and the expense is recorded as of the cheque date—regardless of when the expense had been incurred. The primary focus is on the amount of cash in the bank, little effort is made to match revenues to the time period in which they are earned, or to match expenses to the time period in which they are incurred. Accrual basis accounting matches revenues to the period in which they are earned. While it is more complex than cash basis accounting, it provides more information about your business. The accrual basis allows you to track receivables and payables, the accrual basis allows you to match revenues to the expenses incurred in earning them, giving you more meaningful financial reports
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Politics of Andorra
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The politics of Andorra take place in a framework of a parliamentary constitutional diarchy, and a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, with the Head of Government of Andorra as chief executive, legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature, before 1993, Andorras political system had no clear division of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches. A constitution ratified and approved in 1993 establishes Andorra as a parliamentary democracy that retains the President of France and Bishop of Urgell as co-princes. However, the head of government retains executive power, the two co-princes serve coequally with limited powers that do not include an individual veto over government acts. They are each represented in Andorra by a personal representative, under the 1993 constitution, the co-princes continue as heads of state, but the head of government retains executive power. The two co-princes serve coequally with limited powers that do not include veto over government acts, both are represented in Andorra by a delegate, although since 1993, both France and Spain have their own embassies. The way the two princes are chosen makes Andorra one of the most politically distinct nations on earth, one co-prince is the man or woman who is currently serving as President of France, currently Francois Hollande. The other is the current Roman Catholic bishop of the Catalan city of La Seu dUrgell, as neither prince lives in Andorra, their role is almost entirely ceremonial. In 1981, the Executive Council, consisting of the Cap de Govern, every four years, after the general elections, the General Council elects the head of government, who, in turn, chooses the other members of the Executive Council. Andorras main legislative body is the 28-member General Council, the sindic, the subsindic and the members of the Council are elected in the general elections to be held every four years. The Council meets throughout the year on certain dates set by tradition or as required, at least one representative from each parish must be present for the General Council to meet. Historically, within the General Council, four deputies apiece from each of the seven individual parishes have provided representation and this system allowed parishes with as few as 350 voters the same number of representatives as larger parishes with up to 2,600 voters. To correct this imbalance, a provision in the new constitution modifies the structure, under the new format, half of the representatives are chosen by the traditional system, and the other half selected from nationwide lists. A sindic and a subsindic are chosen by the General Council to implement its decisions and they serve three-year terms and may be reappointed once. Sindics have virtually no discretionary powers, and all decisions must be approved by the Council as a whole. Courts apply the laws of Andorra, supplemented with Roman law. Civil cases are first heard by the Court of Batlles – a group of four judges, Appeals are heard in the Court of Appeals
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Foreign direct investment
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A foreign direct investment is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from foreign investment by a notion of direct control. Broadly, foreign direct investment includes mergers and acquisitions, building new facilities, reinvesting profits earned from overseas operations and intra company loans. In a narrow sense, foreign direct investment refers just to building new facility, FDI is the sum of equity capital, other long-term capital, and short-term capital as shown the balance of payments. FDI usually involves participation in management, joint-venture, transfer of technology, stock of FDI is the net cumulative FDI for any given period. Direct investment excludes investment through purchase of shares, FDI is one example of international factor movements. A foreign direct investment is an ownership in a business enterprise in one country by an entity based in another country. Foreign direct investment is distinguished from foreign investment, a passive investment in the securities of another country such as public stocks and bonds. Moreover, control of technology, management, even crucial inputs can confer de facto control, for example, Joe S. Bain only explained the internationalization challenge through three main principles, absolute cost advantages, product differentiation advantages and economies of scale. Furthermore, the theories were created under the assumption of the existence of perfect competition. Facing the challenges of his predecessors, Hymer focused his theory on filling the gaps regarding international investment, the theory proposed by the author approaches international investment from a different and more firm-specific point of view. Furthermore, Hymer proceeds to criticize the neoclassical theories, stating that the theory of capital movements cannot explain international production. Moreover, he clarifies that FDI is not necessarily a movement of funds from a country to a host country. In contrast, if interest rates were the motive for international investment. Another observation made by Hymer went against what was maintained by the neoclassical theories, in fact, foreign direct investment can be financed through loans obtained in the host country, payments in exchange for equity, and other methods. Further studies attempted to explain how firms could monetize these advantages in the form of licenses, removal of conflicts, conflict arises if a firm is already operating in foreign market or looking to expand its operations within the same market. He proposes that the solution for this hurdle arose in the form of collusion, however, it must be taken into account that a reduction in conflict through acquisition of control of operations will increase the market imperfections. The extent to which a company can mitigate risk depends on how well a firm can formulate an internationalization strategy taking these levels of decision into account
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Co-Princes of Andorra
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The Co-Princes of Andorra are the two rulers of the Principality of Andorra, a landlocked microstate lying in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Founded in 1278 through a treaty between the Bishop of Urgell and the French Count of Foix, this unique arrangement has persisted through medieval times to the present day. The French president is also the person to be a monarch. Each Co-Prince appoints a representative, the French Co-Prince currently being represented by Jean-Pierre Hugues. Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted a charter to the Andorran people in return for their fighting against the Moors, the feudal overlord of this territory was at first the Count of Urgell. In 988, however, the count, Borrell II, gave Andorra to the Diocese of Urgell in exchange for land in Cerdanya, the Bishop of Urgell, based in Seu dUrgell, has ruled Andorra ever since. In 1095, the Lord and the Bishop signed a declaration of their co-sovereignty over Andorra, arnalda, daughter of Arnau of Caboet, married the Viscount of Castellbò, and both became Viscounts of Castellbò and Cerdanya. Their daughter, Ermessenda, married Roger Bernat II, the French Count of Foix and they became, respectively, count and countess of Foix, viscount and viscountess of Castellbò and Cerdanya, and also co-sovereigns of Andorra. In the 11th century, a dispute arose between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix, the conflict was mediated by Aragon in 1278, and led to the signing of the first paréage, which provided that Andorras sovereignty be shared between the count and the bishop. This gave the principality its territory and political form, and marked the commencement of Andorras unique monarchical arrangement. Over the years, the French title to Andorra passed from the counts of Foix to the kings of Navarre. After King Henry III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France, he issued an edict in 1607 establishing the King of France, in 1812–13, the First French Empire annexed Catalonia and divided it into four départements, with Andorra forming part of the district of Puigcerdà. Following the defeat of Napoleon I, this annexation was reversed and Andorra reverted to its former independence, the French head of state—whether king, emperor, or president—has continued to serve as a co-prince of Andorra ever since. On July 12,1934, Andorras monarchical system was challenged by an adventurer named Boris Skossyreff, though initially enjoying some support within Andorras political establishment, he was ultimately arrested by Spanish authorities on July 20 of that year after declaring war on the Bishop of Urgell. Skossyfreff was expelled, and was never considered to have been the Andorran monarch in any legal sense, before 1993, Andorra had no codified constitution, and the exact prerogatives of the co-princes were not specifically defined in law. It clarified the continuance of the unique Andorran monarchy, and also delineated the precise role and this medieval custom was subsequently abandoned in 1993. In 2009, French president Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to abdicate as Co-prince if the principality did not change its laws to eliminate its longstanding status as a tax haven. The Constitution of Andorra carefully defines the role and prerogatives of the co-princes of Andorra today
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