1.
Europa (mythology)
–
In Greek mythology Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete, a woman with Phoenician origin of high lineage, and for whom the continent Europe was named. This can especially be said of the story of Europa, Europas earliest literary reference is in the Iliad, which is commonly dated to the 8th century BC. Another early reference to her is in a fragment of the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, the earliest vase-painting securely identifiable as Europa dates from mid-7th century BC. Greek Εὐρώπη Eurṓpē contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ/ὠπ-/ὀπτ- eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion. It is common in ancient Greek mythology and geography to identify lands or rivers with female figures, thus, Europa is first used in a geographic context in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo, in reference to the western shore of the Aegean Sea. As a name for a part of the world, it is first used in the 6th century BC by Anaximander. Barry adduces the word Ereb on an Assyrian stele with the meaning of night, sunset, in opposition to Asu sunrise and this proposal is mostly considered unlikely or untenable. They call it the temple of Astarte, I hold this Astarte to be no other than the moon-goddess. But according to the story of one of the priests this temple is sacred to Europa and this legend I heard from other Phœnicians as well, and the coinage current among the Sidonians bears upon it the effigy of Europa sitting upon a bull, none other than Zeus. Thus they do not agree that the temple in question is sacred to Europa, the paradox, as it seemed to Lucian, would be solved if Europa is Astarte in her guise as the full, broad-faced moon. Sources differ in details regarding Europas family, but agree that she is Phoenician, and from a lineage that descended from Io, the mythical nymph beloved of Zeus, who was transformed into a heifer. She is generally said to be the daughter of Agenor, the Phoenician King of Tyre, other sources, such as the Iliad, claim that she is the daughter of Agenors son, the sun-red Phoenix. So some interpret this as her brother Phoenix gave his siblings name to his three children and this Europa is also loved by Zeus, but because of the same name, gave some confusions to others. After arriving in Crete, Europa had three sons fathered by Zeus, Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon, the three of whom became the three judges of the Underworld when they died, in Crete she married Asterion also rendered Asterius and became mother of his daughter Crete. There were two competing myths relating how Europa came into the Hellenic world, but they agreed that she came to Crete, the mythical Europa cannot be separated from the mythology of the sacred bull, which had been worshipped in the Levant. There is also a sanctuary of Demeter Europa, the mythographers tell that Zeus was enamored of Europa and decided to seduce or ravish her, the two being near-equivalent in Greek myth. He transformed himself into a white bull and mixed in with her fathers herds. While Europa and her helpers were gathering flowers, she saw the bull, caressed his flanks, Zeus took that opportunity and ran to the sea and swam, with her on his back, to the island of Crete
2.
European Union
–
The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum
3.
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
–
The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of member states of the European Union at three stages. The policies cover the 19 eurozone states, as well as non-euro European Union states, each stage of the EMU consists of progressively closer economic integration. Only once a state participates in the stage it is permitted to adopt the euro as its official currency. As such, the stage is largely synonymous with the eurozone. The euro convergence criteria are the set of requirements that needs to be fulfilled in order for a country to join the eurozone, nineteen EU member states, including most recently Lithuania, have entered the third stage and have adopted the euro as their currency. All new EU member states must commit to participate in the stage in their treaties of accession. Only Denmark and the United Kingdom, whose EU membership predates the introduction of the euro, have legal opt outs from the EU Treaties granting them an exemption from this obligation. The remaining seven non-euro member states are obliged to enter the stage once they comply with all convergence criteria. The idea of an economic and monetary union in Europe was first raised well before establishing the European Communities, for example, the Latin Monetary Union existed from 1865-1927. The project experienced serious setbacks from the crises arising from the non-convertibility of the US dollar into gold in August 1971, an attempt to limit the fluctations of European currencies, using a snake in the tunnel, failed. This way of working was derived from the Spaak method, the treaty enters into force on the 1 November 1993. On 16 December 1995, details such as the name of the new currency as well as the duration of the periods are decided. On 3 May 1998, at the European Council in Brussels, on 1 June 1998, the European Central Bank is created, and on 31 December 1998, the conversion rates between the 11 participating national currencies and the euro are established. From the start of 1999, the euro is now a real currency, a three-year transition period begins before the introduction of actual euro notes and coins, but legally the national currencies have already ceased to exist. On 1 January 2001, Greece joins the stage of the EMU. On 1 January 2002, the notes and coins are introduced. On 1 January 2007, Slovenia joins the stage of the EMU. On 1 January 2008, Cyprus and Malta join the stage of the EMU
4.
Politics of the European Union
–
The Politics of the European Union are different from other organisations and states due to the unique nature of the European Union. These areas are primarily under the control of the EUs member states although an amount of structured co-operation and coordination takes place in these areas. For the EU to take actions in these areas, all Member States must give their consent. The principle of subsidiarity does not apply to areas of exclusive competence, the common institutions mix the intergovernmental and supranational aspects of the EU. The EU treaties declare the EU to be based on representative democracy, the Parliament, together with the Council, form the legislative arm of the EU. The Council is composed of governments, thus representing the intergovernmental nature of the EU. Laws are proposed by the European Commission which is appointed by and accountable to the Parliament, although direct elections take place every five years, there are no cohesive political parties in the national sense. Instead, there are alliances of ideologically associated parties who sit, the two largest parties are the European Peoples Party and the Party of European Socialists with the former forming the largest group in Parliament since 1999. The latter is stronger in northern Europe, especially the United Kingdom, legitimation of the European Union rests on the Treaty System. After World War Two, Europe sought to end conflict permanently between France and Germany, in the spirit of the Marshall Plan, those two nations signed the Treaty of Paris in 1951, establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. Since then, the Treaty of Paris, which focused on price setting, the legal basis for the European Community now rests on two treaties, The Treaty for the European Union of 1958, and The Treaty of Maastricht of 1992. The various additions and modifications of treaties has led to a patchwork of policy and planning, the pastiche of treaties, and not a single actualising charter of government, form the constitutional basis of the European Union. This ambiguity is a cause of democratic deficit. The EU itself is a personality and a set of governing institutions empowered by the treaties. However sovereignty is not invested in those institutions, it is pooled with ultimate sovereignty resting with the national governments, yet in those areas where the EU has been granted competencies, it does have the power to pass binding and direct laws upon its members. The competencies of the European Union stem from the original Coal and Steel Community, the original competencies were regulatory in nature, restricted to matters of maintaining a healthy business environment. Rulings were confined to laws covering trade, currency, and competition, increases in the number of EU competencies result from a process known as functional spillover. Functional spillover resulted in, first, the integration of banking and insurance industries to manage finance, the size of the bureaucracies increased, requiring modifications to the treaty system as the scope of competencies integrated more and more functions
5.
Member state of the European Union
–
The European Union comprises 28 member states. Each member state is party to the treaties of the union and thereby subject to the privileges. Unlike members of most international organisations, the states of the EU are subjected to binding laws in exchange for representation within the common legislative. Member states must agree unanimously for the EU to adopt policies concerning defence, subsidiarity is a founding principle of the EU. In 1957, six core states founded the EUs predecessor, the European Economic Community, the remaining states have acceded in subsequent enlargements. On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the newest member state of the EU, Enlargement of the Union is also contingent upon the consent of all existing members and the candidates adoption of the existing body of EU law, known as the acquis communautaire. There is disparity in the size, wealth and political system of member states, while in some areas majority voting takes place where larger states have more votes than smaller ones, smaller states have disproportional representation compared to their population. No member state has withdrawn or been suspended from the EU, in June 2016, the UK held a referendum on membership of the EU, resulting in 51. 89% of votes cast in favour to leaving. Prime Minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 on 29 March 2017 to formally initiate the withdrawal process, notes Enlargement is, and has been, a principal feature of the Unions political landscape. The EUs predecessors were founded by the Inner Six, those willing to forge ahead with the Community while others remained skeptical. It was only a decade before the first countries changed their policy and attempted to join the Union, French President Charles de Gaulle feared British membership would be an American Trojan horse and vetoed its application. Applying in 1969 were the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Norway, however, declined to accept the invitation to become a member when the electorate voted against it, leaving just the UK, Ireland and Denmark to join. But despite the setbacks, and the withdrawal of Greenland from Denmarks membership in 1985, in 1987, the geographical extent of the project was tested when Morocco applied, and was rejected as it was not considered a European country. The year 1990 saw the Cold War drawing to a close, meanwhile, the members of the former Eastern Bloc and Yugoslavia were all starting to move towards EU membership. Ten of these joined in an enlargement on 1 May 2004 symbolising the unification of East. Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007, the year 2013 saw the latest member, Croatia, accede to the Union, and the EU has prioritised membership for the rest of the Balkans – namely Western Balkans. Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey are all formal, turkish membership, pending since the 1980s, is a more contentious issue but it entered negotiations in 2005. According to the Copenhagen criteria, membership of the European Union is open to any European country that is a stable, free market liberal democracy that respects the rule of law and human rights
6.
Outermost regions
–
Several European Union member states have territories which, for historical, geographical, or political reasons, enjoy special status within or outside the European Union. These statuses may have a range of derogation from EU policies. Most of the territories which are outside the EU nonetheless have a relationship with the EU. The outermost regions are territories forming part of a state, situated a significant distance from mainland Europe. All form part of the EUs customs area, however some fall outside of Schengen Area, seven outermost regions were recognised at the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The Treaty of Lisbon included two additional territories in 2007, both of which seceded from one of the original outermost regions, Saint Barthélemy changed its status from OMR to OCT with effect from 1 January 2012. Mayotte, which was formerly an OCT, joined the EU as a OMR with effect from 1 January 2014, as of April 2014, a total of nine territories were registered to have OMR status. Azores and Madeira are two groups of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic, azores and Madeira are integral parts of the Portuguese Republic, but both have the special status as Autonomous Regions, with a degree of self-governance. While derogations from the application of EU law could apply, none do and their VAT is lower than the rest of Portugal, but they are not outside the EU VAT Area. The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago off the African coast which form one of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain–the countrys principal first-level administrative division and they are outside the EU VAT Area. The Canary Islands are the most populated and economically strongest territory of all the outermost regions in the European Union, the outermost regions office for support and information is located in these islands, in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Réunion are five French overseas regions which under French law are, for the most part, the euro is legal tender, however they are outside the Schengen Area and the EU VAT Area. Mayotte is the newest of the five overseas departments having changed from an overseas collectivity, with OCT status and it became an outermost region and thus part of the EU on 1 January 2014. Saint Martin is the overseas collectivity of France with the status of being an outermost region of the EU. As with the French overseas regions, the euro is legal tender in Saint Martin, and it is outside the Schengen Area, on 22 February 2007, Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy were broken away from the French overseas department of Guadeloupe to form new overseas collectivities. As a consequence their EU status was unclear for a time, the legal status of the islands was clarified on the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty which listed them as an outermost region. However, Saint Barthélemy ceased being an outermost region and left the EU, to become an OCT and they were listed in Annex II acc. Yet, the freedom of establishment is limited by Article 203 TFEU, again this can be, according to Article 51 limited
7.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
8.
Supranational union
–
A supranational union is a type of multinational political union where negotiated power is delegated to an authority by governments of member states. The concept of union is sometimes used to describe the European Union. The EU is the entity which provides for international popular elections. The term supranational is used in a loose, undefined sense in other contexts. Another method of decision-making in international organisations is intergovernmentalism, in state governments play a more prominent role. He thought this might begin with the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union and he broached the idea in a November 1945 and November 1947 articles in The Atlantic Monthly that described how the constitution of such an organization might be written. In an April 1948 address at Carnegie Hall, he reiterated, There is only one path to peace and security, the term supranational occurs in an international treaty for the first time in the Treaty of Paris,18 April 1951. This new legal term defined the Community method in creating the European Coal and Steel Community and it defines the relationship between the High Authority or European Commission and the other four institutions. In the treaty, it relates to a new democratic and legal concept, the Founding Fathers of the European Community and the present European Union said that supranationalism was the cornerstone of the governmental system. This is enshrined in the Europe Declaration made on 18 April 1951 and this Europe remains open to all nations. We profoundly hope that other nations will join us in our common endeavour and it was made to recall future generations to their historic duty of uniting Europe based on liberty and democracy under the rule of law. Thus, they viewed the creation of a wider and deeper Europe as intimately bound to the development of the supranational or Community system. This Europe was open to all nations who were free to decide, a supranational union is a supranational polity which lies somewhere between a confederation that is an association of States and a federation that is a state. The EU has supranational competences, but it possesses these competences only to the extent that they are conferred on it by its member states. Within the scope of competences, the union exercises its powers in a sovereign manner, having its own legislative, executive. The supranational Community also has a chamber for organised civil society including economic and social associations, unlike states in a federal super-state, member states retain ultimate sovereignty, although some sovereignty is shared with, or ceded to, the supranational body. Supranational agreements encourage stability and trust, because governments cannot break international accords at a whim, the supranational action may be time-limited. This was the case with the European Coal and Steel Community, supranational accords may be permanent, such as an agreement to outlaw war between the partners
9.
Intergovernmentalism
–
Intergovernmentalism is a term in political science with two meanings. The first refers to a theory of regional integration originally proposed by Stanley Hoffmann, the second treats states, intergovernmentalism treats states, and national governments in particular, as the primary actors in the integration process. The best-known example of integration is the European Union, an economic and political intergovernmental organisation of 28 member states. The EU operates through a system of independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated decisions by the member states. The European Parliament is elected every five years by EU citizens, the EUs de facto capital is Brussels. The EU has developed a market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union, the eurozone, was established in 1999 and is composed of 17 member states. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy the EU has developed a role in external relations, permanent diplomatic missions have been established around the world. The EU is represented at the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the G8, intergovernmentalism represents a way for limiting the conferral of powers upon supranational institutions, halting the emergence of common policies. This extreme consequence can create the condition of supremacy of someone over someone else violating the principle of a Union of Equals, the African Union is a continental intergovernmental union, similar but less integrated to the EU, consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco, the AU was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa to replace the Organisation of African Unity. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, the AUs secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Continental Union Continentalism Intergovernmental organization Liberal intergovernmentalism Mundialization Neofunctionalism Union for the Mediterranean Union of South American Nations
10.
Institutions of the European Union
–
The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision making bodies of the European Union. Institutions are different from agencies of the European Union, most EU institutions were created with the establishment of the European Community in 1958. Much change since then has been in the context the shifting of the balance away from the Council. The role of the Commission has often been to mediate between the two or tip the balance, however the Commission is becoming more accountable to the Parliament, in 1999 it forced the resignation of the Santer Commission and forced a reshuffle of the proposed Barroso Commission in 2004. The development of the institutions, with changes from treaties. Some such as Tom Reid of the Washington Post said of the institutions that nobody would have designed a government as complex. The first institutions were created at the start of the 1950s with the creation of the ECSC, based on the Schuman declaration, at its core was an independent executive called the High Authority with supranational powers over the Community. The laws made by the Authority would be observed by a Court of Justice in order to ensure they were upheld, during the negotiations, two supervisory institutions were put forward to counterbalance the power of the High Authority. The Common Assembly proposed by Jean Monnet to act as a monitor, counterweight, the second was the Council of Ministers, pushed by the smaller states also to add an intergovernmental element and harmonise national policies with those of the authority. In 1957 the Treaties of Rome established two, similar, communities creating a market and promoting atomic energy co-operation. The three institutions shared the Court of Justice and the Parliament, however they had a separate Council and High Authority, the reason for this is the different relationship between the Commission and Council. The three communities were merged in 1967, by the Merger Treaty, into the European Communities. The institutions were carried over from the European Economic Community, under the Treaties of Rome, the Common Assembly was supposed to become elected. However this was delayed by the Council until 1979, since then it gained more powers via successive treaties. The Maastricht Treaty also gave powers to the Council by giving it a key role in the two new pillars of the EU which were based on intergovernmental principles. The 2009 Lisbon Treaty brought nearly all areas under the codecision procedure. The rules for the distribution of seats in the parliament were also changed to a formula system, the High Representative merged with the European Commissioner for External Relations and joined the Commission. The appointment of the Commission President became dependent upon the last EU elections, the Council of Ministers adopted more qualified majority voting and the European Council was made a distinct institution with a permanent president
11.
European Commission
–
Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. The Commission operates as a government, with 28 members of the Commission. There is one member per state, but members are bound by their oath of office to represent the general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 28 is the Commission President proposed by the European Council, the current Commission is the Juncker Commission, which took office in late 2014. The procedural languages of the Commission are English, French and German, the Members of the Commission and their cabinets are based in the Berlaymont building in Brussels. The first Commission originated in 1951 as the nine-member High Authority under President Jean Monnet, the High Authority was the supranational administrative executive of the new European Coal and Steel Community. It took office first on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg, in 1958 the Treaties of Rome had established two new communities alongside the ECSC, the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. However their executives were called Commissions rather than High Authorities, the reason for the change in name was the new relationship between the executives and the Council. Some states such as France expressed reservations over the power of the High Authority, louis Armand led the first Commission of Euratom. Walter Hallstein led the first Commission of the EEC, holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the Château of Val-Duchesse, Hallstein notably began the consolidation of European law and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. The three bodies, collectively named the European Executives, co-existed until 1 July 1967 when, under the Merger Treaty, the Rey Commission completed the Communitys customs union in 1968 and campaigned for a more powerful, elected, European Parliament. Despite Rey being the first President of the communities, Hallstein is seen as the first President of the modern Commission. The Malfatti and Mansholt Commissions followed with work on monetary co-operation, with that enlargement the Commissions membership increased to thirteen under the Ortoli Commission, which dealt with the enlarged community during economic and international instability at that time. Following the Jenkins Commission, Gaston Thorns Commission oversaw the Communitys enlargement to the south, the Commission headed by Jacques Delors was seen as giving the Community a sense of direction and dynamism. Delors and his team are considered as the founding fathers of the euro. The International Herald Tribune noted the work of Delors at the end of his term in 1992. He arrived when Europessimism was at its worst, although he was a little-known former French finance minister, he breathed life and hope into the EC and into the dispirited Brussels Commission. The successor to Delors was Jacques Santer, the entire Santer Commission was forced to resign in 1999 by the Parliament as result of a fraud and corruption scandal, with a central role played by Édith Cresson
12.
Council of the European Union
–
The Council of the European Union is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is part of the essentially bicameral EU legislature and represents the governments of the EUs member states. It is based in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, Belgium, the Council meets in 10 different configurations of 28 national ministers. The continuity between presidencies is provided by an arrangement under which three successive presidencies, known as Presidency trios, share common political programmes, the Foreign Affairs Council is however chaired by the Unions High Representative. Its decisions are made by qualified majority voting in most areas, usually where it operates unanimously, it only needs to consult the Parliament. In a few limited areas the Council may initiate new EU law itself, the Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. The Secretariat is divided into seven directorates-general, each administered by a director-general, the Council first appeared in the European Coal and Steel Community as the Special Council of Ministers, set up to counterbalance the High Authority. The original Council had limited powers, issues relating only to coal and steel were in the Authoritys domain, as a whole, the Council only scrutinised the High Authority. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome established two new communities, and with two new Councils, the Council of the European Atomic Energy Community and the Council of the European Economic Community. However, due to objections over the power of the Authority, their Councils had more powers. In 1965 the Council was hit by the empty chair crisis, due to disagreements between French President Charles de Gaulle and the Commissions agriculture proposals, among other things, France boycotted all meetings of the Council. This halted the Councils work until the impasse was resolved the following year by the Luxembourg compromise, although initiated by a gamble of the President of the Commission, Walter Hallstein, who later on lost the Presidency, the crisis exposed flaws in the Councils workings. In 1993, the Council adopted the name Council of the European Union and that treaty strengthened the Council, with the addition of more intergovernmental elements in the three pillars system. However, at the time the Parliament and Commission had been strengthened inside the Community pillar. The Treaty of Lisbon abolished the system and gave further powers to Parliament. It also merged the Councils High Representative with the Commissions foreign policy head, the development of the Council has been characterised by the rise in power of the Parliament, with which the Council has had to share its legislative powers. The Parliament has often provided opposition to the Councils wishes and this has in some cases led to clashes between both bodies with the Councils system of intergovernmentalism contradicting the developing parliamentary system and supranational principles. The primary purpose of the Council is to act as one of the two chambers of the EUs legislative branch, the chamber being the European Parliament
13.
European Council
–
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings. Established as a summit in 1975, the European Council was formalised as an institution in 2009 upon the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon. Its current President is Donald Tusk, while the European Council has no formal legislative power, it is a strategic body that provides the union with general political directions and priorities, and acts as a collective presidency. The European Commission remains the sole initiator of legislation, but the European Council is able to provide an impetus to guide legislative policy, decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus, except where the Treaties provide otherwise. The European Council officially gained the status of an EU institution after Lisbon treaty in 2000, before that, the first summits of EU heads of state or government were held in February and July 1961. The summits were only formalised in the period between 1974 and 1988, the inaugural European Council, as it became known, was held in Dublin on 10 and 11 March 1975 during Irelands first Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In 1987, it was included in the treaties for the first time and had a role for the first time in the Maastricht Treaty. At first only a minimum of two meetings per year were required, which resulted in an average of three meetings per year being held for the 1975-1995 period, since 1996, the number of meetings were required to be minimum four per year. For the latest 2008-2014 period, this minimum was well exceeded, the seat of the Council was formalised in 2002, basing it in Brussels. Three types of European Councils exist, Informal, Scheduled and Extraordinary, some meetings of the European Council are seen by some as turning points in the history of the European Union. For example,1969, The Hague, Foreign policy and enlargement,1974, Paris, Creation of the Council. 1985, Milan, Initiate IGC leading to the Single European Act,1991, Maastricht, Agreement on the Maastricht Treaty. 1992, Edinburgh, Agreement to retain at Strasbourg the plenary seat of the European Parliament,1993, Copenhagen, Leading to the definition of the Copenhagen Criteria. 1997, Amsterdam, Agreement on the Amsterdam Treaty,1998, Brussels, Selected member states to adopt the euro. 1999, Cologne, Declaration on military forces,1999, Tampere, Institutional reform 2000, Lisbon, Lisbon Strategy 2002, Copenhagen, Agreement for May 2004 enlargement. 2007, Lisbon, Agreement on the Lisbon Treaty,2009, Brussels, Appointment of first president and merged High Representative. The Treaty of Lisbon made the European Council a formal institution distinct from the Council of the EU, as an outgrowth of the Council of the EU, the European Council had previously followed the same Presidency, rotating between each member state. Following the ratification of the treaty in December 2009, the European Council elected the then-Prime Minister of Belgium Herman Van Rompuy as its first permanent president
14.
Court of Justice of the European Union
–
The Court of Justice of the European Union is the institution of the European Union that encompasses the whole judiciary. Seated in Luxembourg, Luxembourg, it consists of two courts, the Court of Justice and the General Court. From 2005 to 2016 it also consisted of the Civil Service Tribunal and it has a sui generis court system, meaning of its own kind, and a supranational institution. CJEU consists of two courts, the Court of Justice, informally known as European Court of Justice which hears applications from national courts for preliminary rulings, annulment. It consists of one judge from each EU member country, as well as 11 advocates general, the General Court, which hears applications for annulment from individuals, companies and, less commonly, national governments. It is made up of 47 judges, which will be increased to 56 in 2019, cJEUs specific mission is to ensure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties of the European Union. To achieve this, it, reviews the legality of actions taken by the EUs institutions, enforces compliance by states with their obligations under the Treaties. CJEU was originally established in 1952 as a court called the Court of Justice of the European Coal. The General Court was created in 1988 and the Civil Service Tribunal was created in 2004, with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, the court system obtained its current name, while the original court itself was renamed Court of Justice. Primacy of European Union law Beck, Gunnar, the Legal Reasoning of the Court of Justice of the EU. Gundega Mikelsone, The Binding Force of the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, official website The archival fonds of the Court of Justice of the European Union is consultable at the Historical Archives of the European Union
15.
European Central Bank
–
The European Central Bank is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy of the eurozone, which consists of 19 EU member states and is one of the largest currency areas in the world. It is one of the worlds most important central banks and is one of the seven institutions of the European Union listed in the Treaty on European Union, the capital stock of the bank is owned by the central banks of all 28 EU member states. The Treaty of Amsterdam established the bank in 1998, and it is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. As of 2015 the President of the ECB is Mario Draghi, former governor of the Bank of Italy, former member of the World Bank, the bank primarily occupied the Eurotower prior to, and during, the construction of the new headquarters. The primary objective of the ECB, mandated in Article 2 of the Statute of the ECB, is to price stability within the Eurozone. The ECB has, under Article 16 of its Statute, the right to authorise the issuance of euro banknotes. Member states can issue euro coins, but the amount must be authorised by the ECB beforehand, the ECB is governed by European law directly, but its set-up resembles that of a corporation in the sense that the ECB has shareholders and stock capital. Its capital is €11 billion held by the central banks of the member states as shareholders. The initial capital allocation key was determined in 1998 on the basis of the population and GDP. Shares in the ECB are not transferable and cannot be used as collateral, the European Central Bank is the de facto successor of the European Monetary Institute. The EMI itself took over from the earlier European Monetary Co-operation Fund, the bank was the final institution needed for EMU, as outlined by the EMU reports of Pierre Werner and President Jacques Delors. It was established on 1 June 1998, the first President of the Bank was Wim Duisenberg, the former president of the Dutch central bank and the European Monetary Institute. The French argued that since the ECB was to be located in Germany and this was opposed by the German, Dutch and Belgian governments who saw Duisenberg as a guarantor of a strong euro. Tensions were abated by an agreement in which Duisenberg would stand down before the end of his mandate. Trichet replaced Duisenberg as President in November 2003, there had also been tension over the ECBs Executive Board, with the United Kingdom demanding a seat even though it had not joined the Single Currency. Under pressure from France, three seats were assigned to the largest members, France, Germany, and Italy, Spain also demanded and obtained a seat. Despite such a system of appointment the board asserted its independence early on in resisting calls for interest rates, when the ECB was created, it covered a Eurozone of eleven members. On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, ECB according to the article 13 of TEU, on 1 November 2011, Mario Draghi replaced Jean-Claude Trichet as President of the ECB
16.
Court of Auditors
–
The Court of Auditors is the fifth institution of the European Union. It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg, the Court of Auditors was created by the 1975 Budgetary Treaty and was formally established on 18 October 1977, holding its first session a week later. At that time the Court was not an institution, it was an external body designed to audit the finances of the European Communities. It replaced two separate bodies, one which dealt with the finances of the European Economic Community and Euratom and one which dealt with the European Coal. The Court did not have a legal status until the Treaty of Maastricht when it was made the fifth institution. By becoming an institution it gained new powers, such as the ability to bring actions before the European Court of Justice. However its audit power related only to the European Community pillar of the EU, despite its name, the Court has no judicial functions. It is rather a professional external investigatory audit agency, the primary role of the court is to externally check if the budget of the European Union has been implemented correctly, in that EU funds have been spent legally and with sound management. In doing so, the checks the paperwork of all persons handling any income or expenditure of the Union. In this role the Court has to remain independent yet remain in touch with the other institutions and it is based on this report that the Parliament makes its decision on whether or not to sign off the European Commissions handling of the budget for that year. The Parliament notably refused to do this in 1984 and 1999 and they are not all replaced every six years, however, as their terms do not coincide. Members are chosen from people who have served in national audit bodies, while serving in the Court, members cannot engage in any other professional activities. As the body is independent, its members are free to decide their own organisation and rules of procedure, since the Treaty of Nice, the Court can set up chambers to adopt certain types of reports or opinions. The Court is supported by a staff of approximately 800 auditors, translators and administrators recruited as part of the European civil service, Auditors are divided into auditor groups which inspect and prepare draft reports for the Court to take decisions upon. Inspections take place not only of EU institutions but any state which receives EU funds given that 90% of income, upon finding a fault the Court has no legal powers of its own and instead informs OLAF which is the EUs anti-fraud agency. The members then elect one of their members as the President of the Court for a renewable three-year term, the election takes place by a secret ballot of those members who applied for the presidency. The duties of the President are to convene and chair the meetings of the Court, ensuring that decisions are implemented, the president also represents the court and appoints a representative for it in contentious proceedings. The current President is Klaus-Heiner Lehne, elected 13 September 2016 and he succeeded Vítor Manuel da Silva Caldeira, elected in 2007
17.
European Parliament
–
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union. Together with the Council of the European Union and the European Commission, the Parliament is composed of 751 members, who represent the second-largest democratic electorate in the world and the largest trans-national democratic electorate in the world. It has been elected every five years by universal suffrage since 1979. However, voter turnout at European Parliament elections has fallen consecutively at each election since that date, voter turnout in 2014 stood at 42. 54% of all European voters. The Parliament is the first institution of the EU, and shares equal legislative and it likewise has equal control over the EU budget. Finally, the European Commission, the body of the EU, is accountable to Parliament. In particular, Parliament elects the President of the Commission, and it can subsequently force the Commission as a body to resign by adopting a motion of censure. The President of the European Parliament is Antonio Tajani, elected in January 2017 and he presides over a multi-party chamber, the two largest groups being the Group of the European Peoples Party and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The last union-wide elections were the 2014 elections, the European Parliament has three places of work – Brussels, the city of Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices, meetings of the whole Parliament take place in Strasbourg and in Brussels. Committee meetings are held in Brussels, the Parliament, like the other institutions, was not designed in its current form when it first met on 10 September 1952. One of the oldest common institutions, it began as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and it was a consultative assembly of 78 appointed parliamentarians drawn from the national parliaments of member states, having no legislative powers. Its development since its foundation shows how the European Unions structures have evolved without a master plan. Some, such as Tom Reid of the Washington Post, said of the union, nobody would have designed a government as complex. Even the Parliaments two seats, which have switched several times, are a result of various agreements or lack of agreements, the body was not mentioned in the original Schuman Declaration. It was assumed or hoped that difficulties with the British would be resolved to allow the Council of Europes Assembly to perform the task, a separate Assembly was introduced during negotiations on the Treaty as an institution which would counterbalance and monitor the executive while providing democratic legitimacy. The wording of the ECSC Treaty demonstrated the desire for more than a normal consultative assembly by using the term representatives of the people. Its early importance was highlighted when the Assembly was given the task of drawing up the treaty to establish a European Political Community
18.
Citizenship of the European Union
–
Citizenship of the European Union was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in 1992, and has been in force since 1993. European Union citizenship is additional to national citizenship, the EU citizenship affords rights, freedoms and legal protections to its citizens. EU citizens also have the right to address the European Parliament, European Ombudsman, and EU agencies directly, EU citizens freedoms include the right to free movement, settlement and employment across the EU. EU citizens are free to trade and transport goods, services and capital through EU borders, as in national market. EU citizens also enjoy legal protections of the EU law, specifically the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and acts, the EU also has an office of European Ombudsman whom EU citizens can approach directly. EU citizenship was first introduced by the Maastricht Treaty, and was extended by the Treaty of Amsterdam, prior to the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, the European Communities treaties provided guarantees for the free movement of economically active persons, but not, generally, for others. However, the treaty provisions were interpreted by the European Court of Justice not as having an economic purpose. In the case of Martinez Sala, the European Court of Justice held that the provisions provided substantive free movement rights in addition to those already granted by union law. Historically, the benefit of being a citizen of an EU country has been that of free movement. The free movement also applies to the citizens of European Economic Area countries, however, with the creation of EU citizenship, certain political rights came into being. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides for citizens to be represented at Union level in the European Parliament. Member States can distinguish between nationals and Union citizens but only if the provisions satisfy the test of proportionality, migrant EU citizens have a legitimate expectation of a limited degree of financial solidarity. Having regard to their degree of integration into the host society Length of time is an important factor when considering the degree of integration. The ECJs case law on citizenship has been criticised for subjecting an increasing number of rules to the proportionality assessment. Article 45 Freedom of movement to work Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that 1, Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Union. State employment reserved exclusively for nationals varies between member states, however, it is broadly limited to those roles that exercise a significant degree of public authority, such as judges, police, the military, diplomats, senior civil servants or politicians. Note that not all Member States choose to all of these posts to nationals. Much of the existing legislation and case law was consolidated in the Citizens Rights Directive 2004/38/EC on the right to move
19.
European Coal and Steel Community
–
The European Coal and Steel Community was an organisation of 6 European countries set up after World War II to regulate their industrial production under a centralised authority. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The ECSC was the first international organisation to be based on the principles of supranationalism, the ECSC was first proposed by French foreign minister Robert Schuman on 9 May 1950 as a way to prevent further war between France and Germany. He declared his aim was to make war not only unthinkable but materially impossible which was to be achieved by regional integration, of which the ECSC was the first step. The Treaty would create a market for coal and steel among its member states which served to neutralise competition between European nations over natural resources, particularly in the Ruhr. These would ultimately form the blueprint for todays European Commission, European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the 1967 Merger Treaty led to all of ECSCs institutions to merge into that of the European Economic Community, but the ECSC retained its own independent legal personality. In 2002, the Treaty of Paris expired and the ECSC ceased to exist in any form, its activities fully absorbed by the European Community under the framework of Amsterdam and Nice treaties. Despite stiff ultra-nationalist, Gaullist and communist opposition, the French Assembly voted a number of resolutions in favour of his new policy of integrating Germany into a community, the International Authority for the Ruhr changed in consequence. Schumans guiding principles were moral, based on the equality of states, the Schuman Declaration of 9 May 1950 occurred after two Cabinet meetings, when the proposal became French government policy. France was thus the first government to agree to surrender sovereignty in a supranational Community and it laid out a plan for a European Community to pool the coal and steel of its members in a common market. Such an act was intended to help economic growth and cement peace between France and Germany, who were historic enemies, Coal and steel were vital resources needed for a country to wage war, so pooling those resources between two such enemies was seen as more than symbolic. Schuman saw the decision of the French government on his proposal as the first example of a democratic and supranational Community, a new development in world history. The plan was seen by some, like Monnet, who crossed out Reuters mention of supranational in the draft and inserted federation. The Schuman Declaration that created the ECSC had several distinct aims and it would make war between member states impossible. It would transform Europe in a step by step process leading to the unification of Europe democratically and it would create the worlds first supranational institution. It would create the worlds first international anti-cartel agency and it would create a common market across the Community. It would, starting with the coal and steel sector, revitalise the whole European economy by similar community processes and it would improve the world economy and the developing countries, such as those in Africa. Firstly, it was intended to prevent further war between France and Germany and other states by tackling the cause of war
20.
European Economic Community
–
The European Economic Community was a regional organisation which aimed to bring about economic integration among its member states. It was created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, upon the formation of the European Union in 1993, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community. In 2009 the ECs institutions were absorbed into the EUs wider framework and it gained a common set of institutions along with the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community as one of the European Communities under the 1965 Merger Treaty. In 1993, a single market was achieved, known as the internal market, which allowed for the free movement of goods, capital, services. In 1994, the market was formalised by the EEA agreement. This agreement also extended the market to include most of the member states of the European Free Trade Association. Upon the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 and this was also when the three European Communities, including the EC, were collectively made to constitute the first of the three pillars of the European Union, which the treaty also founded. The EEC was also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking countries and sometimes referred to as the European Community even before it was renamed as such in 1993. In 1951, the Treaty of Paris was signed, creating the European Coal and this was an international community based on supranationalism and international law, designed to help the economy of Europe and prevent future war by integrating its members. In the aim of creating a federal Europe two further communities were proposed, a European Defence Community and a European Political Community. While the treaty for the latter was being drawn up by the Common Assembly, the ECSC parliamentary chamber, after the Messina Conference in 1955, Paul Henri Spaak was given the task to prepare a report on the idea of a customs union. The so-called Spaak Report of the Spaak Committee formed the cornerstone of the negotiations at Val Duchesse castle in 1956. Together with the Ohlin Report the Spaak Report would provide the basis for the Treaty of Rome, in 1956, Paul Henri Spaak led the Intergovernmental Conference on the Common Market and Euratom at the Val Duchesse castle, which prepared for the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The conference led to the signature, on 25 March 1957, the resulting communities were the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. These were markedly less supranational than the communities, due to protests from some countries that their sovereignty was being infringed. The first formal meeting of the Hallstein Commission, was held on 16 January 1958 at the Chateau de Val-Duchesse, the EEC was to create a customs union while Euratom would promote co-operation in the nuclear power sphere. The EEC rapidly became the most important of these and expanded its activities, one of the first important accomplishments of the EEC was the establishment of common price levels for agricultural products. In 1968, internal tariffs were removed on certain products, another crisis was triggered in regard to proposals for the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy, which came into force in 1962
21.
Inner Six
–
The Inner Six, or simply the Six, were the six founding member states of the European Communities. They were in contrast to the seven who formed the European Free Trade Association rather than engage in supranational European integration. Five of the seven later joined the European Communities. The inner six are those who responded to the Schuman Declarations call for the pooling of coal, the six signed the Treaty of Paris creating the European Coal and Steel Community on 18 April 1951. However the plan was rejected by the Senate of France, which also scuppered the draft treaty for a European Political Community. President of the ECSC High Authority, and architect of the ECSC, Jean Monnet resigned in protest, dependency on overseas oil and the steady exhaustion of coal deposits led to the idea of an atomic energy community. However, the Benelux countries and Germany desired a common market, in order to reconcile the two ideas, both communities would be created. Thus, the six went on to sign the Treaties of Rome in 1957, establishing the European Economic Community, the institutions of these communities would later be merged in 1967, leading to them collectively being known as the European Communities. The six would continue in their co-operation until 1973 when they were joined by two of the seven and Ireland. The events of the Suez Crisis showed the United Kingdom that it could no longer alone, instead turning to the United States. Britain, along with Denmark, Ireland and Norway, applied for membership in 1960, however, then–French President Charles de Gaulle saw British membership of the Community as a Trojan horse for US interests, and hence stated he would veto British membership. The four countries resubmitted their applications on 11 May 1967 and with Georges Pompidou succeeding Charles de Gaulle as French President, negotiations began in 1970 and two years later the accession treaties were signed with all but Norway acceding to the Community. In 1981 Greece joined the European Community, bringing the number to ten, after its democratic revolution, Portugal would also leave EFTA to join the Communities in 1986, along with Spain. On the other hand, membership of the Communities, now the European Union, has reached 28, today, there are still some groups within the European Union integrating faster than others, for example, the eurozone and Schengen Area. Inner Six are today among the most integrated members of the E. U
22.
Enlargement of the European Union
–
Since then, the EUs membership has grown to twenty-eight, with the latest member state being Croatia, which joined in July 2013. The most recent territorial enlargement of the EU was the incorporation of Mayotte in 2014, the most notable territorial reductions of the EU, and its predecessors, were the exit of Algeria upon independence in 1962 and the exit of Greenland in 1985. On 23 June 2016, a referendum on whether the UK should remain in or leave the European Union was held. The formal withdrawal will not take place until negotiations on the terms of their withdrawal are finalized, currently, accession negotiations are under way with several states. The process of enlargement is referred to as European integration. This term is used to refer to the intensification of co-operation between EU member states as national governments allow for the gradual harmonisation of national laws. According to the Maastricht Treaty, each current member state and the European Parliament must agree to any enlargement. According to the EU treaties, membership of the European Union is open to any European State which respects the values referred to in Article 2 and is committed to promoting them. Those Article 2 values are respect for dignity, freedom, democracy, equality. Today the accession process follows a series of steps, from a pre-accession agreement to the ratification of the final accession treaty. These steps are primarily presided over by the European Commission, before a country applies for membership it typically signs an association agreement to help prepare the country for candidacy and eventual membership. Most countries do not meet the criteria to even begin negotiations before they apply, an association agreement helps prepare for this first step. In the case of the Western Balkans, a special process, when a country formally applies for membership, the Council asks the Commission to prepare an opinion on the countrys readiness to begin negotiations. The Council can then accept or reject the Commissions opinion. If the Council agrees to open negotiations the screening process then begins, the Commission and candidate country examine its laws and those of the EU and determine what differences exist. The Council then recommends opening negotiations on chapters of law that it there is sufficient common ground to have constructive negotiations. Often this will involve time-lines before the Acquis Communautaire has to be fully implemented, to assess progress achieved by countries in preparing for accession to the European Union, the European Commission submits regular reports to the European Council. These serve as a basis for the Council to make decisions on negotiations or their extension to other candidates, once this has been completed it will join the Union on the date specified in the treaty
23.
Maastricht Treaty
–
The Maastricht Treaty undertaken to integrate Europe was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty. The Maastricht Treaty and all pre-existing treaties, has subsequently been amended by the treaties of Amsterdam, Nice. The treaty led to the creation of the euro, one of the obligations of the treaty for the members was to keep sound fiscal policies, with debt limited to 60% of GDP and annual deficits no greater than 3% of GDP. The treaty also created what was referred to as the pillar structure of the European Union. The first pillar was where the EUs supra-national institutions—the Commission, the European Parliament, the other two pillars were essentially more intergovernmental in nature with decisions being made by committees composed of member states politicians and officials. All three pillars were the extensions of existing policy structures, the European Community pillar was the continuation of the European Economic Community with the Economic being dropped from the name to represent the wider policy base given by the Maastricht Treaty. In addition, the treaty established the European Committee of the Regions, coR is the European Unions assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EUs institutional framework. The Maastricht criteria are the criteria for European Union member states to enter the stage of European Economic and Monetary Union. The four criteria are defined in article 121 of the treaty establishing the European Community and they impose control over inflation, public debt and the public deficit, exchange rate stability and the convergence of interest rates. Inflation rates, No more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the average of the three best performing member states of the EU.2. Government finance, Annual government deficit, The ratio of the government deficit to gross domestic product must not exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. If not, it is at least required to reach a level close to 3%, only exceptional and temporary excesses would be granted for exceptional cases. Government debt, The ratio of government debt to GDP must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Even if the target cannot be achieved due to the specific conditions, as of the end of 2014, of the countries in the Eurozone, only Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, and Finland still met this target. Long-term interest rates, The nominal long-term interest rate must not be more than 2 percentage points higher than in the three lowest inflation member states, the purpose of setting the criteria is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone even with the inclusion of new member states. The signing of the Treaty of Maastricht took place in Maastricht, Netherlands, representatives from the twelve member states of the European Communities were present, and signed the treaty as plenipotentiaries, marking the conclusion of the period of negotiations. The process of ratifying the treaty was fraught with difficulties in three states, in Denmark, the first Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum was held on 2 June 1992 and ratification of the treaty was rejected by a margin of 50. 7% to 49. 3%
24.
Treaty of Lisbon
–
The Treaty of Lisbon is an international agreement which amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007 and it also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community. The Treaty also made the Unions bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Treaty for the first time gave member states the explicit legal right to leave the EU and the procedure to do so. Supporters argue that it brings more checks and balances into the EU system, with powers for the European Parliament. Although ratified by a majority of states, this was abandoned after being rejected by 54. 67% of French voters on 29 May 2005. After a period of reflection, member states agreed instead to maintain the existing treaties, an amending reform treaty was drawn up and signed in Lisbon in 2007. It was originally intended to have been ratified by all states by the end of 2008. The need to review the EUs constitutional framework, particularly in light of the accession of ten new Member States in 2004, was highlighted in a declaration annexed to the Treaty of Nice in 2001. The agreements at Nice had paved the way for further enlargement of the Union by reforming voting procedures, the final text of the proposed Constitution was agreed upon at the summit meeting on 18–19 June 2004 under the presidency of Ireland. The Constitution, having been agreed by heads of government from the 25 Member States, was signed at a ceremony in Rome on 29 October 2004, before it could enter into force, however, it had to be ratified by each member state. Ratification took different forms in each country, depending on the traditions, constitutional arrangements, in 2005, referendums held in France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitution. This led to a period of reflection and the end of the proposed European Constitution. In 2007, Germany took over the rotating EU Presidency and declared the period of reflection over, by March, the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, the Berlin Declaration was adopted by all Member States. This declaration outlined the intention of all Member States to agree on a new treaty in time for the 2009 Parliamentary elections, that is to have a ratified treaty before mid-2009. On 4 June 2007, the released their text in French – cut from 63,000 words in 448 articles in the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe to 12,800 words in 70 articles. The meeting took place under the German Presidency of the EU, after dealing with other issues, such as deciding on the accession of Cyprus and Malta to the Eurozone, negotiations on the Treaty took over and lasted until the morning of 23 June 2007. The hardest part of the negotiations was reported to be Polands insistence on square root voting in the Council of Ministers, but the implementation of the Agenda was less impressive than the declarations made at its adoption by the European Council in March 2000. In addition, it was agreed to recommend to the IGC that the provisions of the old European Constitution should be amended in certain key aspects
25.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
–
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 13th century until 1795. The state was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija, the Grand Duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus and other Slavic lands, including territory of present-day Belarus, parts of Ukraine, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe and it was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century, Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the crusade by the Teutonic Knights. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the reign of Gediminas. The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and it also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. After Vytautass death, Lithuanias relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated, Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family, attempted to break the personal union with Poland. However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact, eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate government, laws, army, shortly after, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations. The newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state remaining only nominally independent, after the Kościuszko Uprising, the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and Austria in 1795. The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania name the name of the state as Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia. The title of Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward, in the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus. Pagan Lithuanians initially paid tribute to Polotsk, but they grew in strength. The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija, the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes, the peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians. This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes, including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija, although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority and at least several dukes were from the same families, the formal acknowledgment of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state
26.
Prehistory
–
Prehistory means literally before history, from the Latin word for before, præ, and Greek ιστορία. Neighbouring civilisations were the first to follow, most other civilisations reached the end of prehistory during the Iron Age. The period when a culture is written about by others, but has not developed its own writing is known as the protohistory of the culture. By definition, there are no records from human prehistory. Clear techniques for dating were not well-developed until the 19th century and this article is concerned with human prehistory as defined here above. There are separate articles for the history of the Earth. However, for the race as a whole, prehistory ends when recorded history begins with the accounts of the ancient world around the 4th millennium BC. For example, in Egypt it is accepted that prehistory ended around 3200 BC, whereas in New Guinea the end of the prehistoric era is set much more recently. The three-age system is the periodization of prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective predominant tool-making technologies, Stone Age Bronze Age Iron Age. The notion of prehistory began to surface during the Enlightenment in the work of antiquarians who used the word primitive to describe societies that existed before written records, the first use of the word prehistory in English, however, occurred in the Foreign Quarterly Review in 1836. The main source for prehistory is archaeology, but some scholars are beginning to more use of evidence from the natural and social sciences. This view has been articulated by advocates of deep history, human population geneticists and historical linguists are also providing valuable insight for these questions. Human prehistory differs from history not only in terms of its chronology, restricted to material processes, remains and artifacts rather than written records, prehistory is anonymous. Because of this, reference terms that use, such as Neanderthal or Iron Age are modern labels with definitions sometimes subject to debate. Palaeolithic means Old Stone Age, and begins with the first use of stone tools, the Paleolithic is the earliest period of the Stone Age. The early part of the Palaeolithic is called the Lower Palaeolithic, evidence of control of fire by early humans during the Lower Palaeolithic Era is uncertain and has at best limited scholarly support. The most widely accepted claim is that H. erectus or H. ergaster made fires between 790,000 and 690,000 BP in a site at Bnot Yaakov Bridge, Israel. The use of fire enabled early humans to cook food, provide warmth, Early Homo sapiens originated some 200,000 years ago, ushering in the Middle Palaeolithic
27.
History of Lithuania
–
The history of Lithuania dates back to settlements founded many thousands of years ago, but the first written record of the name for the country dates back to 1009 AD. Lithuanians, one of the Baltic peoples, later conquered neighboring lands, the Grand Duchy was a successful and lasting warrior state. It remained fiercely independent and was one of the last areas of Europe to adopt Christianity, a formidable power, it became the largest state in Europe in the 15th century through the conquest of large groups of East Slavs who resided in Ruthenia. In 1385, the Grand Duchy formed a union with Poland through the Union of Krewo. Later, the Union of Lublin created the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that lasted until 1795, afterward, the Lithuanians lived under the rule of the Russian Empire until the 20th century. On February 16,1918, Lithuania was re-established as a democratic state and it remained independent until the outset of World War II, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union under the terms of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Following a brief occupation by Nazi Germany after the Nazis waged war on the Soviet Union, in 1990–91, Lithuania restored its sovereignty with the Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania. Lithuania joined the NATO alliance in 2004 and the European Union as part of its enlargement in 2004, the first humans arrived on the territory of modern Lithuania in the 10th millennium BC after the glaciers receded at the end of the last glacial period. According to the historian Marija Gimbutas, these came from two directions, the Jutland Peninsula and from present-day Poland. They brought two different cultures, as evidenced by the tools they used and they were traveling hunters and did not form stable settlements. In the 8th millennium BC, the climate much warmer. The inhabitants of what is now Lithuania then traveled less and engaged in hunting, gathering. During the 6th–5th millennium BC, various animals were domesticated and dwellings became more sophisticated in order to shelter larger families, Agriculture did not emerge until the 3rd millennium BC due to a harsh climate and terrain and a lack of suitable tools to cultivate the land. Crafts and trade also started to form at this time, speakers of North-Western Indo-European might have arrived with the Corded Ware culture around 3200/3100 BC. The first Lithuanian people were a branch of an ancient group known as the Balts, the main tribal divisions of the Balts were the West Baltic Old Prussians and Yotvingians, and the East Baltic Lithuanians and Latvians. The Balts spoke forms of the Indo-European languages, today, the only remaining Baltic nationalities are the Lithuanians and Latvians, but there were more Baltic groups or tribes in the past. Some of these merged into Lithuanians and Latvians, while no longer existed after they were conquered and assimilated by the State of the Teutonic Order. The Baltic tribes did not maintain close cultural or political contacts with the Roman Empire, tacitus, in his study Germania, described the Aesti people, inhabitants of the south-eastern Baltic Sea shores who were probably Balts, around the year 97 AD
28.
List of early Lithuanian dukes
–
Early dukes of Lithuania reigned before Lithuanians were unified by Mindaugas into a state, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While the Palemonids legend provides genealogy from the 10th century, only few dukes were mentioned by historical sources. All of them were mentioned in written sources the 13th century, data about them is extremely scarce and is usually limited to few brief sentences. The primary sources are the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia and Hypatian Codex, in 1205, he attacked Riga and was killed in the battle, led by ruler of Semigallia, Vester. Daugirutis – Livonians imprisoned this Lithuanian duke in 1213, where he killed himself, stekšys – another powerful duke, killed in 1214 near Lielvārde. Father of Mindaugas – several sources mention that he was a powerful duke, 16th century genealogies gave him the name of Ryngold or Ringaudas. Palemonids – a list of mythological rulers of Lithuania List of Lithuanian rulers
29.
Halych-Volhynia
–
Roman the Great united the principalities of Halych and Volhynia into a state that existed from 1199 to 1349. Along with Novgorod and Vladimir-Suzdal, it was one of the three most important powers to emerge from the collapse of Kievan Rus. After the enormous destruction wreaked by the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus in 1239–41 and he strove to rid his realm of the Mongol yoke, however, by a formal orientation to western Europe and by attempting, unsuccessfully, to establish military alliances with other European rulers. The Polish conquest of the kingdom in 1349 ended its vassalage to the Golden Horde, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was populated by Slav people, identified with groups called Buzhans, Dulebes and Croats. The southwestern edge of the land was part of the Great Moravian state. In 907, Galician Croats and Dulebs were involved in the campaign against Constantinople led by Rus Prince Oleg of Novgorod. This is the first significant evidence of the affiliation of native tribes. Around 970, the edge of this territory was probably included into the Piast dynasty state. The area was mentioned in 981, when Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus took over on his way into Poland and he founded the city of Volodimir and later Christianized the locals. In the 12th century, the Rurikid Principality of Halych was formed there by descendants of Vladimir the Great. It merged at the end of the 12th century with the neighboring Principality of Volhynia into the principality of Galicia–Volhynia, which existed with some breaks for a century and a half. Volhynia and Galicia had originally two separate Rurikid principalities, assigned on a rotating basis to younger members of the Kievan dynasty. The line of Prince Roman the Great of Vladimir-in-Volhynia had held the principality of Volhynia, Romans successors would mostly use Halych as the designation of their combined kingdom. In Romans time Galicia–Volhynias principal cities were Halych and Volodymyr-in-Volhynia, in 1204 he captured Kiev. Roman was allied with Poland, signed a peace treaty with Hungary and developed diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire. At the height of his reign he became the most powerful of the Rus princes. He married the niece of the Byzantine emperor Alexios III, for whom Galicia was the main military ally against the Cumans, the relation with Byzantium helped to stabilize Galicias relations with the Rusian population of the Lower Dniester and the Lower Danube. In 1205 Roman turned against his Polish allies, leading to a conflict with Leszek the White, Roman was subsequently killed in the Battle of Zawichost, and his dominion entered a period of rebellion and chaos. Thus weakened, Galicia–Volhynia became an arena of rivalry between Poland and Hungary, King Andrew II of Hungary styled himself rex Galiciæ et Lodomeriæ, Latin for king of Galicia and Vladimir, a title that later was adopted in the Habsburg Empire
30.
Balts
–
One of the features of Baltic languages is the number of conservative or archaic features retained. German medieval chronicler Adam of Bremen in the part of the 11th century CE was the first writer to use the term Baltic in its modern sense to mean the sea of that name. This is the first reference to the Baltic or Barbarian Sea, the Germanics, however, preferred some form of East Sea until after about 1600, when they began to use forms of Baltic Sea. Around 1840 the German nobles of the Governorate of Livonia devised the term Balts to mean themselves and they spoke an exclusive dialect, Baltic German. For all practical purposes that was the Baltic language until 1919, scandinavians begin settling in Western Baltic lands in Lithuania and Latvia during Vendel Age and with interruptions their presence in Baltic lands continued most of Viking Age. In 1845 Georg Heinrich Ferdinand Nesselmann proposed a language group for Latvian and Lithuanian to be called Baltic. It found some credence among linguists but was not generally adopted until the creation of the Baltic states as part of the settlement of World War I in 1919, estonia and Finland, however, also became counted among the Baltic states in the geopolitical sense. Because the thousands of lakes and swamps in this area contributed to the Balts geographical isolation and it is possible that around 3, 500–2,500 B. C. there was massive migration of peoples representing the Corded Ware culture. They came from the southeast and spread all across Eastern and Central Europe and it is believed that Corded Ware culture peoples were Indo-European ancestors of many Europeans, including Balts. It is thought that those Indo-European newcomers were quite numerous and in the Eastern Baltic assimilated earlier indigenous cultures, over time the new people formed the Baltic peoples and they spread in the area from the Baltic sea in the west to the Volga in the east. This information is summarized and synthesized by Marija Gimbutas in The Balts to obtain a likely proto-Baltic homeland, a possible early reference to a Baltic people occurs in 98 CE, when Tacitus names a tribe living near the Baltic Sea as the Aesti and describes them as amber gatherers. However, it is not clear if the Aesti mentioned by Tacitus were, a Baltic people, or, the Aesti appear to have inhabited the Sambian peninsula (in or near the present Kaliningrad Oblast. Over time, the area of Baltic habitation shrank, due to assimilation by other groups, finally, according to Slavic chronicles of the time, they warred with Slavs, and perhaps, were defeated and assimilated some time in the 11th to 13th centuries. Balts became differentiated into Western and Eastern Balts in the late centuries BCE, the eastern Baltic region was inhabited by ancestors of the Western Balts, Brus/Prūsa, Sudovians/Jotvingians, Scalvians, Nadruvians, and Curonians. The Eastern Balts, including the hypothesised Dniepr Balts, were living in modern-day Belarus, Ukraine, many other Eastern and Southern Balts either assimilated with other Balts, or Slavs in the 4th–7th centuries and were gradually slavicized. Gradually Old Prussians became Germanized or some Lithuanized during period from the 15th to the 17th centuries, the cultures of the Lithuanians and Latgalians/Latvians survived and became the ancestors of the populations of the modern countries of Latvia and Lithuania. Old Prussian was closely related to the other extinct Western Baltic languages and it is more distantly related to the surviving Eastern Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian. Compare the Prussian word seme, the Latvian zeme, the Lithuanian žemė, Old Prussian contained a few borrowings specifically from Gothic and even North Germanic
31.
Livonian Order
–
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. It was later a member of the Livonian Confederation, from 1435 to 1561, the Order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after their defeat by Samogitians in 1236 at the Battle of Schaulen. They were incorporated into the Teutonic Knights and became known as the Livonian Order in 1237, in 1298 Lithuanians took Karkus castle north of Riga, and defeated the order in the Battle of Turaida, killing Livonian Land Master Bruno and 22 knights. In 1346, the Order bought the Duchy of Estonia from King Valdemar IV of Denmark, life within the Orders territory is described in the Chronicle of Balthasar Russow. The Livonian Orders defeat in the Battle of Swienta on September 1,1435, during the Livonian War, however, the Order suffered a decisive defeat by troops of Muscovite Russia in the Battle of Ergeme in 1560. After coming to an agreement with Sigismund II Augustus and his representatives, in the southern part of the Brothers lands he created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia for his family. Most of the lands were seized by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The north of Estonia was taken back by Denmark and Sweden, the Livonian Master, like the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order, was elected by his fellow knights for a life term. The grandmaster exercised supervisory powers and his advice was considered equal to a command, the grandmaster of Teutonic knights did not limit local autonomy, he rarely visited Livonia or sent ambassadors for oversight
32.
Teutonic Knights
–
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious order founded as a military order in the 12th century in Acre. Purely religious since 1929, it still confers limited honorary knighthoods, the order was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Formed in the year 1190 in Acre, in the Levant, after Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order moved to Transylvania in 1211 to help defend the South-Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Kipchaks. Starting from there, the Order created the independent Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights, adding continuously the conquered Prussians territory, the Order theoretically lost its main purpose in Europe with the Christianization of Lithuania. However, it initiated numerous campaigns against its Christian neighbours, the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Novgorod Republic. The Teutonic Knights had an economic base, and so hired mercenaries from throughout Europe to augment their feudal levies. In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order and broke its military power at the Battle of Grunwald, however, the capital of the Teutonic Knights was successfully defended in the following Siege of Marienburg and the Order was saved from collapse. In 1515, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made an alliance with Sigismund I of Poland-Lithuania. Thereafter, the empire did not support the Order against Poland, in 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg resigned and converted to Lutheranism, becoming Duke of Prussia as a vassal of Poland. Soon after, the Order lost Livonia and its holdings in the Protestant areas of Germany, the Order did keep its considerable holdings in Catholic areas of Germany until 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution and the Order lost its last secular holdings. However, the Order continued to exist as a charitable and ceremonial body and it was outlawed by Adolf Hitler in 1938, but re-established in 1945. Today it operates primarily with charitable aims in Central Europe, the Knights wore white surcoats with a black cross. A cross pattée was sometimes used as their coat of arms, the motto of the Order was, Helfen, Wehren, Heilen. The full name of the Order in German is Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem or in Latin Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum, thus, the term Teutonic refers to the German origins of the order in Latin. It is commonly known in German as the Deutscher Orden, historically also as Deutscher Ritterorden, Deutschherrenorden, Deutschritterorden or Die Herren im weißen Mantel. However, based on the model of the Knights Templar, it was transformed into an order in 1198. It received papal orders for crusades to take and hold Jerusalem for Christianity, during the rule of Grand Master Hermann von Salza the Order changed from being a hospice brotherhood for pilgrims to primarily a military order. The Order was founded in Acre, and the Knights purchased Montfort, northeast of Acre, the Order also had a castle at Amouda in Armenia Minor
33.
Polatsk
–
Polotsk or Polatsk is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polatsk Raion in Vitebsk Voblast and its population is more than 80,000 people. It is served by Polotsk Airport and during the Cold War was home to Borovitsy air base, the Old East Slavic name, Polotesk, derives from the Polota River, that flows into the Western Dvina nearby. The Vikings rendered that name as Palteskja, paluota is a Lithuanian name of ethnic Lithuanian river from which a Lithuanian name for todays Belorussian city Polotsk originates. Polotsk is one of the most ancient cities of the Eastern Slavs, the Primary Chronicle listed Polotsk in 862, together with Murom and Beloozero. However, an expedition from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus suggests that Polotsk did exist in the first half of the 9th century. The first known prince of Polotsk was Rogvolod and he had two sons and a daughter named Rogneda. Rogvolod promised her to the prince of Kiev, Yaropolk, as a wife, but Yaropolks brother, Vladimir, had attacked Polotsk before Yaropolk came. He killed Rogvolod, his wife and sons and married Rogneda, Vladimir and Rogneda had five children and the eldest of them got the Polotsk throne. It repeatedly asserted its sovereignty in relation to other centers of Kievan Rus, becoming a capital, the episcopal see. Its most powerful ruler was Prince Vseslav Bryachislavich, who reigned from 1044 to 1101, a 12th-century inscription commissioned by Vseslavs son Boris may still be seen on a huge boulder installed near the St. Sophia Cathedral. For a full list of the Polotsk rulers, please see the list of Belarusian rulers, in 1240, Polotsk became a vassal of Lithuanian princes. Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytenis annexed the city by force in 1307. Polotsk received a charter of autonomy guaranteeing that the grand dukes ′will not introduce new and it was the earliest to be so incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. By doing so, the Lithuanians manage to grasp the Dvina trade route into their hands. The Magdeburg law was adopted in 1498, Polotsk was a capital of the Połock Voivodship of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1772. Captured by the Russian army of Ivan the Terrible in 1563 and it was again captured by Russian on 17 June 1654 but recaptured by Poles-Lithuanians on 30 October 1660 during Russo-Polish War. The school was also the patron of the college in Petersburg, the mission to Saratów, when in 1820 the pressure from the Russian Orthodox Church influenced Tsar Alexander I to exile the Jesuits and close the Academy, there were 700 students studying there
34.
Minsk
–
Minsk (Belarusian, Мінск pronounced, is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Belarus, situated on the Svislach and Nyamiha rivers. It is the centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States. As the national capital, Minsk has an administrative status in Belarus and is the administrative centre of Minsk Region. In 2013, it had a population of 2,002,600, the earliest historical references to Minsk date to the 11th century, when it was noted as a provincial city within the principality of Polotsk. The settlement developed on the rivers, in 1242, Minsk became a part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It received town privileges in 1499, from 1569, it was a capital of the Minsk Voivodeship in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was part of a region annexed by the Russian Empire in 1793, from 1919 to 1991, after the Russian Revolution, Minsk was the capital of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. Minsk will host the 2019 European Games, Minsk is located on the southeastern slope of the Minsk Hills, a region of rolling hills running from the southwest to the northeast – that is, to Lukomskaye Lake in northwestern Belarus. The average altitude above sea level is 220 metres, the physical geography of Minsk was shaped over the two most recent ice ages. There are six smaller rivers within the city limits, all part of the Black Sea basin, Minsk is in the area of mixed forests typical of most of Belarus. Pinewood and mixed forests border the edge of the city, especially in the north, some of the forests were preserved as parks as the city grew. The city was built on the hills, which allowed for defensive fortifications. Minsk has a warm summer humid continental climate, owing to its location between the strong influence of the moist air of the Atlantic Ocean and the dry air of the Eurasian landmass. Its weather is unstable and tends to change often, the average January temperature is −4.5 °C, while the average July temperature is 18.5 °C. The lowest temperature was recorded on 17 January 1940, at −40 °C and the warmest on 29 July 1936 at 35 °C and this results in frequent fogs, common in the autumn and spring. Minsk receives annual precipitation of 690 millimetres, of one third falls during the cold period. Throughout the year, most winds are westerly and northwesterly, bringing cool, similar climatic regimes are found in Stockholm, Sweden and in Halifax, Canada. The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Centre of Radioactive and Environmental Control, during 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons
35.
Kievan Rus'
–
Kievan Rus was a loose federation of East Slavic tribes in Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century, under the reign of the Rurik dynasty. The modern peoples of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia all claim Kievan Rus as their cultural ancestors, according to Russian historiography the first ruler to start uniting East Slavic lands into what has become known as Kievan Rus was Prince Oleg. He extended his control from Novgorod south along the Dnieper river valley to protect trade from Khazar incursions from the east, Sviatoslav I achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the Khazars. Vladimir the Great introduced Christianity with his own baptism and, by decree, extended it to all inhabitants of Kiev and beyond. Kievan Rus reached its greatest extent under Yaroslav the Wise, his sons assembled and issued its first written legal code, the state declined beginning in the late 11th century and during the 12th century, disintegrating into various rival regional powers. The state finally fell to the Mongol invasion of the 1240s. During its existence, Kievan Rus was known as the land of the Rus, in Greek as Ῥωσία, in Old French as Russie, Rossie, in Latin as Russia, and from the 12th century also Ruthenia. Various etymologies have been proposed, including Ruotsi, the Finnish designation for Sweden, and Ros, the term Kievan Rus was coined in the 19th century in Russian historiography to refer to the period when the centre was in Kiev. Later, the Russian term was rendered into Belarusian and Ukrainian as Кіеўская Русь Kijeŭskaja Rus’ and Ки́ївська Русь Kyivska Rus’, prior to the emergence of Kievan Rus in the 9th century AD, the lands between the Baltic Sea and Black Sea were primarily populated by eastern Slavic tribes. In the northern region around Novgorod were the Ilmen Slavs and neighboring Krivichi, who occupied territories surrounding the headwaters of the West Dvina, Dnieper, to their north, in the Ladoga and Karelia regions, were the Finnic Chud tribe. In the south, in the area around Kiev, were the Poliane, a group of Slavicized tribes with Iranian origins, the Drevliane to the west of the Dnieper, and the Severiane to the east. To their north and east were the Vyatichi, and to their south was forested land settled by Slav farmers, controversy persists over whether the Rus’ were Varangians or Slavs. This uncertainty is due largely to a paucity of contemporary sources, attempts to address this question instead rely on archaeological evidence, the accounts of foreign observers, legends and literature from centuries later. To some extent the controversy is related to the myths of modern states in the region. According to the Normanist view, the Rus were Scandinavians, while Russian and Ukrainian nationalist historians generally argue that the Rus were themselves Slavs. Normanist theories focus on the earliest written source for the East Slavs, nevertheless, archaeological evidence from the area suggests that a Scandinavian population was present during the 10th century at the latest. On balance, it likely that the Rus proper were a small minority of Scandinavians who formed an elite ruling class. Liutprand of Cremona, who was twice an envoy to the Byzantine court, identifies the Russi with the Norse, leo the Deacon, a 10th-century Byzantine historian and chronicler, refers to the Rus as Scythians and notes that they tended to adopt Greek rituals and customs
36.
Grand Duke
–
He was defeated by the royal armies but nevertheless obtained a remarkable autonomy as a Magnus Dux, leading ultimately to Portuguese independence from the Spanish Kingdom of Castille-León. Another example was the line of self-proclaimed grand dukes of Burgundy in the 15th century and they tried -ultimately without success- to create from these territories under their control a new unified country between the Kingdom of France in the west and the Holy Roman Empire in the east. His son and successor Charles the Bold continued to use the style and title. The title magnus dux or grand duke has been used by the rulers of Lithuania, the first monarchs ever officially titled grand duke were the Medici sovereigns of Tuscany, starting from the late 16th century. This official title was granted by Pope Pius V in 1569, thus the 19th century saw a new group of monarchs titled Grand Duke in central Europe, especially in present-day Germany. A list of these is available in the grand duchy. In the same century, the ceremonial version of the title grand duke in Russia expanded massively because of the large number of progeny of the ruling House of Romanov during those decades. After the Russian conquests, the continued to be used by the Russian Emperors in their role as rulers of both Lithuania and the autonomous Finland. The Holy Roman Empire under the House of Habsburg instituted a similar non-sovereign Großfürstentum Siebenbürgen in 1765, Grand princes were medieval monarchs who usually ruled over several tribes and/or were feudal overlords of other princes. At the time, the title was translated as king. However, Grand Princes did not have the same precedence as later Western European kings. Grand Princes reigned in Central and Eastern Europe, notably among Slavs, the title Grand Prince translates to Velikiy Knjaz in Russian. The Slavic word knjaz and the Lithuanian kunigas are cognates of the word King in its meaning of Ruler. Thus, the meaning of Veliki Knjaz and Didysis Kunigas was more like Great Ruler than Grand Duke. Grand Prince Ivan IV of Muscovy was the last monarch to reign without claiming any higher title, the rulers of the Turkish vassal state of Transylvania used the title of Grand Prince, this title was later assumed by the Habsburgs after their conquest of Hungary. The Polish Kings of the Swedish House of Vasa also used the title for their non-Polish territories. The Latin title dux, which was phonetically rendered doux in Greek, was a title for imperial generals in the Late Roman Empires. Under the latter, exclusively Byzantine theme system, the commander of a theme was often styled a doux instead of the earlier strategos from the 10th century on
37.
Mindaugas
–
Mindaugas was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania. Little is known of his origins, early life, or rise to power, he is mentioned in a 1219 treaty as an elder duke, the contemporary and modern sources discussing his ascent mention strategic marriages along with banishment or murder of his rivals. He extended his domain into regions southeast of Lithuania proper during the 1230s and 1240s, during the summer of 1253 he was crowned King of Lithuania, ruling between 300,000 and 400,000 subjects. While his ten-year reign was marked by various state-building accomplishments, Mindaugass conflicts with relatives and other dukes continued and his gains in the southeast were challenged by the Tatars. He broke peace with the Livonian Order in 1261, possibly renouncing Christianity and his three immediate successors were assassinated as well. The disorder was not resolved until Traidenis gained the title of Grand Duke c, although his reputation was unsettled during the following centuries and his descendants were not notable, he gained standing during the 19th and 20th centuries. Mindaugas was the only King of Lithuania, while most of the Lithuanian Grand Dukes from Jogaila onward also reigned as Kings of Poland, in the 1990s the historian Edvardas Gudavičius published research supporting an exact coronation date –6 July 1253. This day is now a national holiday, Statehood Day. Contemporary written sources about Mindaugas are very scarce, much what is known about his reign is obtained from the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle and the Hypatian Codex. Both of these chronicles were produced by enemies of Lithuania and thus have anti-Lithuanian bias and they are also incomplete, both of them lack dates and locations even for the most important events. For example, the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle devoted 125 poetry lines to Mindaugas coronation, other important sources are the papal bulls regarding baptism and coronation of Mindaugas. The Lithuanians did not produce any surviving records themselves, except for a series of acts granting lands to the Livonian Order, due to lack of sources, some important questions regarding Mindaugas and his reign cannot be answered. Because written sources covering the era are scarce, Mindaugas origins and his year of birth, sometimes given as c. 1200, is at times left as a question mark. His father is mentioned in the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle as a powerful duke, Dausprungas, mentioned in the text of a 1219 treaty, is presumed to have been his brother, and Dausprungas sons Tautvilas and Gedvydas his nephews. He is thought to have had two sisters, one married to Vykintas and another to Daniel of Halych, Vykintas and his son Treniota played major roles in later power struggles. In addition to Vaišvilkas and his sister, two sons, Ruklys and Rupeikis, are mentioned in written sources, the latter two were assassinated along with Mindaugas. Information on his sons is limited and historians continue to discuss their number and he may have had two other sons whose names were later conflated by scribes into Ruklys and Rupeikis
38.
King of Lithuania
–
The Kingdom of Lithuania was a Lithuanian monarchy which existed from 1251 to roughly 1263. King Mindaugas was the first and only crowned king of Lithuania, the status of a kingdom was lost after Mindaugas assassination in 1263. Other monarchs of Lithuania are referred to as Grand Dukes, even though their status was almost identical to that of a king, two attempts were made to reestablish the Kingdom – by Vytautas the Great in 1430 and by the Council of Lithuania in 1918. In the early 13th century, Lithuania was inhabited by various pagan Baltic tribes, by the 1230s, Mindaugas emerged as the leader of the Grand Duchy. In 1249, a war erupted between Mindaugas and his nephews Tautvilas and Edivydas. The status of a kingdom was granted on July 17,1251, two years later, Mindaugas and his wife Morta were crowned as the King and Queen of Lithuania. In 1255, Mindaugas received permission from Pope Alexander IV to crown his son as King of Lithuania, the coronation and the alliance with the Livonian Order allowed a period of peace between Lithuania and Livonia. During that time the Lithuanians expanded east, while Livonia attempted to conquer Samogitia, enticed by his nephew Treniota, Mindaugas broke the peace after the Order was defeated in the Battle of Skuodas in 1259 and Battle of Durbe in 1260. Treniotas influence grew as he waged a war against the Order, the conflict resulted in assassination of Mindaugas and two of his sons in 1263. The country reverted to paganism and its status as a kingdom was lost, the state survived as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the subsequent monarchs are known as Grand Dukes as they could not be crowned as kings until they converted to Christianity. There was an attempt by Grand Duke Vytautas the Great to receive the royal crown, soon afterwards Vytautas died, without being crowned as king. After Lithuania declared independence in February 1918, the monarchy was reestablished, however, the monarchy was short-lived and Mindaugas II never visited Lithuania. The Kingdom of Lithuania was a client-state of the German Empire and following Germanys defeat in World War I in fall 1918, Duchy of Lithuania Grand Duchy of Lithuania Kingdom of Lithuania Lithuania proper
39.
Prague
–
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union and it is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its history and it was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city has more than ten major museums, along with theatres, galleries, cinemas. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an Alpha- global city according to GaWC studies, Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul, the region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes, around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the following century, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in Levý Hradec, Butovice and in the Šárka valley. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied, I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars. She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia, under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973
40.
Capital (political)
–
A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city that encompasses the offices and meeting places of its respective government. In some jurisdictions, including countries, the different branches of government are located in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. The word capital derives from the Latin caput, meaning head, in several English-speaking states, the terms county town, county seat, and borough seat are also used in lower subdivisions. In unitary states, subnational capitals are known as administrative centres. The capital is often, but not necessarily, the largest city of its constituent, historically, the major economic centre of a state or region often becomes the focal point of political power, and becomes a capital through conquest or federation. Examples are Ancient Babylon, Abbasid Baghdad, Ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Changan, Ancient Cusco, Madrid, Paris, London, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, Vienna, and Berlin. Some of these cities are or were also religious centres, e. g. Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Ancient Babylon, Moscow, Belgrade, Paris, and Peking. A capital city that is also the economic, cultural. The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal, traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, e. g. Nanking by Shanghai, Quebec City by Montreal, and numerous US state capitals. The decline of a dynasty or culture could also mean the extinction of its city, as occurred at Babylon. Although many capitals are defined by constitution or legislation, many long-time capitals have no legal designation as such, for example Bern, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London, Paris, are located in or near them. In Canada, there is a capital, while the ten provinces. The states of such countries as Mexico, Brazil, and Australia all have capital cities, for example, the six state capitals of Australia are Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Australia, the capital cities is regularly used, to refer to the aforementioned state capitals plus the federal capital Canberra and Darwin. Abu Dhabi is the city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent countries, such as the United Kingdom or the Kingdom of Denmark, the national capitals of Germany and Russia, the Stadtstaat of Berlin and the Federal City of Moscow, are also constituent states of both countries in their own right
41.
Vltava
–
It is commonly referred to as the Czech national river. The Vltava river is 430 kilometres long and drains an area about 28,090 square kilometres in size, over half of Bohemia, as it runs through Prague, the river is crossed by 18 bridges and covers 31 kilometres within the city. The water from the river was used for drinking until 1912 and it is, however, the source of drinking water in case of failures/repairs to the water supply from the Želivka and Kárané sources. The Podolí water processing plant is on standby for such cases with the section of the river upstream of the Podolí plant under the stricter. Several dams were built on it in the 1950s, the Orlík Dam supports the largest reservoir on the Vltava by volume, while the Lipno Dam in the Bohemian Forest retains the largest reservoir by area. North of Prague the Štěchovice Reservoir has been built over the site of the St Johns Rapids. The river also features numerous locks and weirs that help mitigate its flow from 1,172 metres in elevation at its source near the German border to 155 metres at its mouth in Mělník. The height difference from source to mouth is about 1,016 metres, the Vltava itself originates by a confluence of two streams, the Warm Vltava, which is longer, and the Cold Vltava, sourcing in Bavaria. Along its course, Vltava receives many tributaries, the biggest being Otava and Berounka from the left and Lužnice and its section around Český Krumlov is a very popular destination of water tourism. Both the Czech name Vltava and the German name Moldau are believed to originate from the old Germanic words wilt ahwa, in Annales Fuldenses it is called Fuldaha, from 1113 AD it is attested as Wultha. In Chronica Boemorum it is attested for the first time in its Bohemian form as Wlitaua, on the other side there is a river Ltava in Ukraine with no traces of Germanic origins. The name of a settlement on this river was mentioned in the Hypatian Chronicle in 1174, traditionally connected to the name of the city of Poltava, there are many theories describing etymology of Ltava. The Vltava basin has flooded multiple times throughout recorded history, markers have been created along the banks denoting the water line for notable floods in 1784,1845,1890,1940, and the highest of all in 2002. It left the oldest bridge in Prague, Charles Bridge, seriously weakened, Prague was again flooded in 2013. Nine hydroelectric dams have been built on the Vltava to regulate the water flow, beginning at the headwaters, these are, Lipno, Lipno II, Hněvkovice, Kořensko, Orlík, Kamýk, Slapy, Štěchovice and Vrané. One of the works of classical music by a Czech composer is Bedřich Smetanas Vltava. It is from the Romantic era of music and is a musical depiction of the rivers course through Bohemia. A minor planet 2123 Vltava discovered in 1973 by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh is named after the river, Smetanas symphonic poem also inspired a song of the same name by Bertolt Brecht
42.
Bohemia
–
Bohemia is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech lands in the present-day Czech Republic. Bohemia was a duchy of Great Moravia, later an independent principality, a kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently a part of the Habsburg Monarchy, after World War I and the establishment of an independent Czechoslovak state, Bohemia became a part of Czechoslovakia. Between 1938 and 1945, border regions with sizeable German-speaking minorities of all three Czech lands were joined to Nazi Germany as the Sudetenland, in 1990, the name was changed to the Czech Republic, which become a separate state in 1993 with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Until 1948, Bohemia was a unit of Czechoslovakia as one of its lands. Bohemia was bordered in the south by Upper and Lower Austria, in the west by Bavaria and in the north by Saxony and Lusatia, in the northeast by Silesia, and in the east by Moravia. In the 2nd century BC, the Romans were competing for dominance in northern Italy, the Romans defeated the Boii at the Battle of Placentia and the Battle of Mutina. After this, many of the Boii retreated north across the Alps, much later Roman authors refer to the area they had once occupied as Boiohaemum. The earliest mention was by Tacitus Germania 28, and later mentions of the name are in Strabo. The name appears to include the tribal name Boi- plus the Germanic element *haimaz home and this Boiohaemum was apparently isolated to the area where King Marobods kingdom was centred, within the Hercynian forest. The Czech name Čechy is derived from the name of the Slavic ethnic group, the Czechs, Bohemia, like neighbouring Bavaria, is named after the Boii, who were a large Celtic nation known to the Romans for their migrations and settlement in northern Italy and other places. Another part of the nation moved west with the Helvetii into southern France, to the south, over the Danube, the Romans extended their empire, and to the southeast in Hungaria, were Sarmatian peoples. In the area of modern Bohemia the Marcomanni and other Suebic groups were led by their king Marobodus and he took advantage of the natural defenses provided by its mountains and forests. In late classical times and the early Middle Ages, two new Suebic groupings appeared to the west of Bohemia in southern Germany, the Alemanni, many Suebic tribes from the Bohemian region took part in such movements westwards, even settling as far away as Spain and Portugal. With them were also tribes who had pushed from the east, such as the Vandals, other groups pushed southwards towards Pannonia. These are precursors of todays Czechs, though the amount of Slavic immigration is a subject of debate. The Slavic influx was divided into two or three waves, the first wave came from the southeast and east, when the Germanic Lombards left Bohemia. Soon after, from the 630s to 660s, the territory was taken by Samos tribal confederation and his death marked the end of the old Slavonic confederation, the second attempt to establish such a Slavonic union after Carantania in Carinthia. Other sources divide the population of Bohemia at this time into the Merehani, Marharaii, Beheimare, Christianity first appeared in the early 9th century, but only became dominant much later, in the 10th or 11th century
43.
UNESCO
–
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
44.
World Heritage Site
–
A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
45.
Guinness World Records
–
The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. As of the 2017 edition, it is now in its 63rd year of publication, the international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. On 10 November 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, then the director of the Guinness Breweries, went on a shooting party in the North Slob, by the River Slaney in County Wexford. After missing a shot at a golden plover, he involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe. That evening at Castlebridge House, he realised that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europes fastest game bird. Beaver knew that there must be numerous other questions debated nightly in pubs throughout Ireland and abroad and he realised then that a book supplying the answers to this sort of question might prove successful. Beavers idea became reality when Guinness employee Christopher Chataway recommended University friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, the twin brothers were commissioned to compile what became The Guinness Book of Records in August 1954. A thousand copies were printed and given away, after the founding of The Guinness Book of Records at 107 Fleet Street, the first 198-page edition was bound on 27 August 1955 and went to the top of the British best seller lists by Christmas. The following year, it launched in the US, and sold 70,000 copies, since then, Guinness World Records has become a household name and the global leader in world records. Because the book became a hit, many further editions were printed, eventually settling into a pattern of one revision a year, published in September/October. The McWhirters continued to compile it for many years, Ross McWhirter was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1975. Following Ross assassination, the feature in the show where questions about records posed by children were answered was called Norris on the Spot, Guinness Superlatives Limited was formed in 1954 to publish the first book. Sterling Publishing owned the rights to the Guinness book in the US for decades, and, under their management, the group was owned by Guinness PLC and subsequently Diageo until 2001, when it was purchased by Gullane Entertainment. Gullane was itself purchased by HIT Entertainment in 2002, with offices in New York City and Tokyo, Guinness World Records global headquarters remain in London, while its museum attractions are based at Ripley headquarters in Orlando, Florida, US. Recent editions have focused on record feats by person competitors, many records also relate to the youngest person who achieved something, such as the youngest person to visit all nations of the world, being Maurizio Giuliano. Each edition contains a selection of the records from the Guinness database, as well as new records. The majority of records are no longer listed in the book or on the website. For those unable to wait the 4–6 weeks for a reply, the Guinness Book of Records is the worlds most sold copyrighted book, earning it an entry within its own pages
46.
Prague Castle
–
Prague Castle is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic, dating from the 9th century. It is the residence of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, the Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually, the history of the castle began in 870 when its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded under the reign of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia, the first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century, King Ottokar II of Bohemia improved fortifications and rebuilt the royal palace for the purposes of representation and housing. In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style, in place of rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus began building of a vast Gothic church, that were completed almost six centuries later. During the Hussite Wars and the decades, the castle was not inhabited. In 1485, King Ladislaus II Jagello began to rebuild the castle, the massive Vladislav Hall was added to the Royal Palace. New defence towers were built on the north side of the castle. A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle, under the Habsburgs, some new buildings in Renaissance style were added. Ferdinand I built the Belvedere as a palace for his wife Anne. Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence and he founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious art collections were exhibited. The Second Prague defenestration in 1618 began the Bohemian Revolt, during the subsequent wars, the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, the last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Empress Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. Following his abdication in 1848, and the succession of his nephew, Franz Joseph, to the throne, in 1918, the castle became the seat of the president of the new Czechoslovak Republic, T. G. The New Royal Palace and the gardens were renovated by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, in this period the St Vitus Cathedral was finished. Renovations continued in 1936 under Plečniks successor Pavel Janák, during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia
47.
Paleolithic Age
–
The Paleolithic is a prehistoric period of human history distinguished by the development of the most primitive stone tools and covers roughly 95% of human technological prehistory. It extends from the earliest known use of tools, probably by Homo habilis initially,2.6 million years ago. The Paleolithic era is followed by the Mesolithic, the date of the Paleolithic–Mesolithic boundary may vary by locality as much as several thousand years. During the Paleolithic period, humans grouped together in small societies such as bands, the Paleolithic is characterized by the use of knapped stone tools, although at the time humans also used wood and bone tools. Other organic commodities were adapted for use as tools, including leather and vegetable fibers, however, due to their nature, surviving artifacts of the Paleolithic era are known as paleoliths. About 50,000 years ago, there was a increase in the diversity of artifacts. For the first time in Africa, bone artifacts and the first art appear in the archaeological record, the first evidence of human fishing is also noted, from artifacts in places such as Blombos cave in South Africa. The new technology generated an explosion of modern humans which is believed to have led to the extinction of the Neanderthals. Humankind gradually evolved from members of the genus Homo—such as Homo habilis. The climate during the Paleolithic consisted of a set of glacial and interglacial periods in which the climate periodically fluctuated between warm and cool temperatures, by c. 50,000 – c. 40,000 BP, the first humans set foot in Australia. By c. 45,000 BP, humans lived at 61°N latitude in Europe, by c. 30,000 BP, Japan was reached, and by c. 27,000 BP humans were present in Siberia, above the Arctic Circle. At the end of the Upper Paleolithic, a group of humans crossed Beringia, the term Paleolithic was coined by archaeologist John Lubbock in 1865. It derives from Greek, παλαιός, palaios, old, and λίθος, lithos, stone, human evolution is the part of biological evolution concerning the emergence of anatomically modern humans as a distinct species. The Paleolithic Period coincides almost exactly with the Pleistocene epoch of geologic time and this epoch experienced important geographic and climatic changes that affected human societies. During the preceding Pliocene, continents had continued to drift from possibly as far as 250 km from their present locations to positions only 70 km from their current location. South America became linked to North America through the Isthmus of Panama, most of Central America formed during the Pliocene to connect the continents of North and South America, allowing fauna from these continents to leave their native habitats and colonize new areas. Africas collision with Asia created the Mediterranean Sea, cutting off the remnants of the Tethys Ocean, climates during the Pliocene became cooler and drier, and seasonal, similar to modern climates. The formation of an Arctic ice cap around 3 million years ago is signaled by a shift in oxygen isotope ratios and ice-rafted cobbles in the North Atlantic
48.
Celts
–
The history of pre-Celtic Europe remains very uncertain. According to one theory, the root of the Celtic languages, the Proto-Celtic language, arose in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Thus this area is called the Celtic homeland. The earliest undisputed examples of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions beginning in the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names, Insular Celtic languages are attested beginning around the 4th century in Ogham inscriptions, although it was clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century, coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a cohesive cultural entity. They had a linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from the culture of the surrounding polities. By the 6th century, however, the Continental Celtic languages were no longer in wide use, Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels and the Celtic Britons of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Great Britain, Ireland, today, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still spoken in parts of their historical territories, and Cornish and Manx are undergoing a revival. The first recorded use of the name of Celts – as Κελτοί – to refer to a group was by Hecataeus of Miletus, the Greek geographer, in 517 BC. In the fifth century BC Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the head of the Danube, the etymology of the term Keltoi is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *kʲel ‘to hide’, IE *kʲel ‘to heat’ or *kel ‘to impel’, several authors have supposed it to be Celtic in origin, while others view it as a name coined by Greeks. Linguist Patrizia De Bernardo Stempel falls in the group. Yet he reports Celtic peoples in Iberia, and also uses the ethnic names Celtiberi and Celtici for peoples there, as distinct from Lusitani, pliny the Elder cited the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. Latin Gallus might stem from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name originally and its root may be the Proto-Celtic *galno, meaning “power, strength”, hence Old Irish gal “boldness, ferocity” and Welsh gallu “to be able, power”. The tribal names of Gallaeci and the Greek Γαλάται most probably have the same origin, the suffix -atai might be an Ancient Greek inflection. Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae and this means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia, though it does refer to the same ancient region
Welcome to the European Union Portal!
