Europe, the most economically and socially developed continent, is also the cradle of the so-called Western civilization. Mother of empires like the Roman , Byzantine , Germanic , Spanish , Portuguese , Russian , French and British , is full of small countries but in each of its corners hides a long history. Its cities like Paris , London , Rome , Moscow , Madrid or Athensthey are recurrent destinations of the universal history, but at present they manage to merge the past with the contemporary, becoming great metropolis that are part of the world economic motor. Although its great wealth lies in its historical heritage, its geography opens space to outstanding natural destinations. A few hundred kilometers one can go from the harsh climate of Lapland to the immensities of the Black Forest (Germany), the heights of the Alps or bathe in the crystal clear waters of the Aegean Sea.
Climate of Europe is largely milder than other regions at this altitude due to a warm Gulf Stream. Overall the continent is very diverse in terms of climates that may range from Arctic desert to a hot Mediterranean climate in the South. Summers in the northwest are usually cool and rainy. Scandinavia in the very North part of the continent can be very extreme in winters with little light, while summers are mild with so called White Nights then the daylight may persist till midnight. Southern Europe on the other hand is influenced by African continent. It is dry and can be unbearably hot in July and August. If you chose this time of the year you might have to deal with forest fires that are quite frequent. These are also the busiest months of the year in terms of tourist load. More preferable months to travel to Europe usually range from May to September. However if you want to ski in Europe February and March will probably suit you better. Although you have to execute certain degree of common sense since the trails in Europe have less safety precautions.
Maps are essential if your trip planner is filled with places to visit and locations to see. Streets are often lacking any organization or logic. Even directions from local people might be confusing and misleading. Simply take a city guide with the names of major streets and this will save you lots of time and worries. It is especially true if you travel by yourself or with a few family members or friends.
Be aware that not all telephones work everywhere. If you want a cell phone while traveling abroad you can check with your provider if you will get coverage in Europe or simply buy a cheap version then you will land in your point of destination. Roaming charges can hit you hard and they can be quite high even for short conversations.
Believe it or not it is different from wherever you live. Keeping an idea of this minor difference can save you from bothering someone home by calling at 3 am. These times zones also vary greatly. If you live in the US or Canada you are behind European time zones and should subtract hours to get Western Hemisphere time. For example Great Britain, Ireland and Portugal are on GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) which is 5 hours ahead of the New York time zone, while the eastern part of the European Russia might be 9 hours ahead. Europe has Daylight Saving so consider this while traveling in March or October.
Internet Cafes is probably second best thing after Internet itself. Nowadays you can find access to internet in pretty much every city and even a village in Europe. All you have to do is to pay a certain amount for the number of hours and use your access to the internet. The quality might range from place to place, but generally the connection is pretty fast.
This will be covered from country to country, but most of Western European countries don't require visas for short visits from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. For longer stays in Europe or for travels to Eastern Europe you will need a visa.
While Europe is generally a safe place to travel they are exceptions. It might be from country to country or from region of a country to another region. There will be more on this by country, but it is a general rule that you should avoid dark alleys and walking by yourself. Petty crimes are fairly common, especially in big cities. Avoid taking all of your jewelry to impress. It will most likely will draw negative attention from thieves. Leaving your belonging also might not be a good idea. Unattended things have an mysterious quality of disappearing in the shortest period of time. You might also want to carry traveler's checks with you to minimize the amount of cash that you have in yourself.
Although the introduction of Euro on January 1st, 2002 decreased number of currencies in Europe you will still need to change your money into local ones. There are a lot of locations you can do it, but probably your hotel will offer a better choice. If you chose to use an ATM you have to take in consideration interests that banks might charge you for taking out cash. Another thing you should not forget is excessive protection that banks might have. If they see your card being charged in strange places like Milan or Saint Petersburg they might block your card. So you can either inform the bank before you go to Europe or keep a number of your bank so you can call them immediately to inform them that it is you who is actually using the card.
Here is some bad news. Members of European Union are considered almost a single entity so there is no duty free if you travel between these countries. It is only if you travel between EU and other non- EU countries. Here is some more bad news. Most of goods and services have Value Added Tax which is included in the prices of all stuff that you might buy while traveling to Europe. If you really don't want to pay this tax you can go two ways. One is the long one by waiting for a refund if you are not a European Union citizen. Keep your refund and present your unopened purchases at the Tax Refund desk. Another way to avoid paying is by visiting stores with "Euro Free Tax" sign. You will need a passport to prove you are not a citizen of the EU to get your discount.
The name "Europe" probably comes from the name of the heroine of the
ancient Greek mythology of Europe (Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē), a Phoenician
princess abducted by Zeus and taken to Crete (at the same time, the
epithet of Europe could also be associated with Hera and Demeter). The
origin of this name itself, as the French linguist P. Chantren says, is
unknown. Since the myth of Europa and the bull seems to date back to the
Mycenaean period, it is possible to consider its origin as pre-Greek.
The most popular etymological hypotheses in modern literature were
proposed in antiquity (along with many others), but are controversial:
for example, one etymology interprets it from the Greek roots ευρύς
(eurús) - "wide", and όψ (ōps, gen. ὠπός, ōpós) - "eye", that is,
"wide-eyed"; according to the lexicographer Hesychius, the name Europia
means "country of sunset", or "dark", which was compared by later
linguists with Western Sem. ‘ərā̊b ib “sunset” or Akkad. êrêb šamši with
the same meaning (M. West assessed this etymology as very weak).
According to another theory, the name comes from the Phoenician word
ereb.
The name "Europe" as a designation for a part of the known world was
first used in the 6th century BC by Anaximander and Hecataeus.
Anaximander drew the border between Asia and Europe along the Phasis
River (modern Rioni River in Georgia) in the Caucasus. This convention
is adhered to by Herodotus in the 5th century BC, although he also notes
that some considered the river Don, and not Phasis, as the border
between Europe and Asia.
The name Europe for part of the world is
absent in ancient Greek literature (in the Homeric hymn to the Pythian
Apollo, only Northern Greece is called Europe) and was first recorded in
the “Description of the Earth” by Hecateus of Miletus (end of the 6th
century BC), the first book of which is devoted to Europe.
The
ancient Greeks initially considered Europe to be a separate continent,
separated from Asia by the Aegean and Black Seas, and from Africa by the
Mediterranean Sea. Convinced that Europe is only a small part of the
vast continent, which is now called Eurasia, ancient authors began to
draw the eastern border of Europe along the Don River (such ideas are
already found in Polybius and Strabo). This tradition dominated for
almost two millennia. In particular, at Mercator, the border of Europe
runs along the Don, and from its source - strictly north to the White
Sea.
In the 15th century, Europe briefly became almost synonymous
with Christendom, but today the majority of Christians live outside its
territory[15]. In the 19th century, almost all of the world's industry
was in Europe; today, most of the production is made outside of it.
V. N. Tatishchev in 1720 proposed to draw the eastern border of
Europe along the ridge of the Ural Mountains, and further along the Yaik
River (modern Ural) up to the mouth that flows into the Caspian Sea.
Gradually, the new border became generally accepted, first in Russia,
and then beyond its borders. At present, the border of Europe is drawn:
in the north - along the Arctic Ocean; in the west - along the Atlantic
Ocean; in the south - along the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, Black
Seas; in the east - along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, the
Mugodzhar mountains, along the Emba River to the Caspian Sea, from it
along the rivers Kuma and Manych (Kumo-Manych depression) to the mouth
of the Don (in particular, according to encyclopedias: Great Soviet
Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Britannica) or , less often, along the
Caucasian ridge to the Black Sea). The further passage of the border
between Europe and Asia along the Black Sea and the Black Sea straits is
supported by all sources. Europe also includes the nearby islands and
archipelagos, while a number of the islands of Greece, located near the
coast of Turkish Anatolia, may geographically belong to Asia, and
politically to Europe. The same applies to the islands of Malta and
Iceland (the first is conditionally separated from Africa by the
Mediterranean Sea, and the second by the Atlantic Ocean from America).
Azerbaijan and Georgia in the list of countries in Europe is based
primarily on political, economic and historical-cultural considerations,
as well as sometimes allocated a partial geographical location, which is
not unambiguous.
In certain contexts, Europe may include
countries and territories that are outside the physical boundaries of
Europe described above, but are connected with Europe politically,
economically, historically and culturally (Armenia, the Republic of
Cyprus).
The cultural heritage of Europe is based, in particular, on Ancient
Greece, the Roman Empire and the Christianity of the Middle East. The
history of ancient Greece dates back to 700 BC. The Roman Empire began
to develop as early as 753 BC, but the time of its greatest prosperity
dates back to the beginning of the 1st century AD. The Roman Empire was
at its peak in 117. With the collapse of the Roman Empire in Europe, the
Great Migration of Nations began. Nevertheless, the traditions of the
early time were preserved in the monasteries. Beginning in the 7th
century, Arab nomads conquered the eastern and southern parts of Europe.
Charlemagne, crowned Emperor of Rome in 800, ruled over large areas of
Western and Central Europe. He was called the "Father of Europe". After
the collapse of his kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire was founded.
In 833, Mojmir I annexed the Principality of Nitra to Great Moravia, and
in 846 he extended his power to the territory of the Czech Republic.
During the Middle Ages, the feudal society model spread from France
to the rest of Europe. In Britain, a dispute between the nobility and
the king over the division of power led to the writing of the Magna
Carta and the creation of Parliament. The power of the pope grew, Europe
entered into a crusade, and the Inquisition opposed heresies[24].
The turning point in art, culture and the history of ideas - the
Renaissance, marked the beginning of a new era in the 15th century.
Beginning in the 15th century, European empires, especially Spain
(formerly Castile), Portugal, and then the Netherlands, France, and
Great Britain (formerly England), built large colonial empires in
Africa, North and South America, and Asia.
The Industrial
Revolution began in Europe at the end of the 18th century and
contributed to an increase in demand for raw materials and markets. With
the industrialization of the countryside and factories, people began to
move to the cities in search of work. The cities were very densely
populated, and deadly epidemics were common in the big cities. In
addition, most factories had to work in the dust and soot.
The
Enlightenment movement, which advocated rationalism and individual
freedom, gained wide popularity in the 18th century. It is believed that
modern democracy was born during the French Revolution of the late 18th
century. Domination gradually began to pass from the monarchs to the
bourgeoisie. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first French
consul, Napoleon I, sought to make all of Europe a single state by
conquering his neighbors. In the 19th century, nationalism rose to
prominence and the labor movement spread from Great Britain throughout
Europe. In some places it even led to civil wars. Many states became
independent, and, on the other hand, some small principalities merged
into larger nation-states. Especially in poor and difficult times,
migrants poured out of Europe, especially to the US and Canada.
As prosperity increased in the 20th century, competition for resources
and colonial domination led to armed conflicts, the largest of which
were World War I of 1914-1918 and World War II of 1939-1945. The First
World War in Europe led to the collapse of the economy and the unjust
peace agreement at Versailles, and in several countries dictators rose
to power again. This eventually led to World War II, which was the most
destructive war in human history.
An important stage in European
history is also the political situation that developed after the Second
World War. During the Cold War, Europe was divided into two major
political and economic blocs: the socialist states in Eastern Europe and
the capitalist states in Western Europe. Economic growth and the
development of democracy were rapid, especially in the capitalist
countries. In the early 1990s, both the Soviet Union and the Eastern
Bloc collapsed. At the same time, East and West Germany were unified. In
the 1990s, the European Union assumed its current form, but at the same
time, the Yugoslav wars were going on in the Balkans. On the other hand,
many countries of the former Eastern Bloc have also democratized, and in
the 21st century, many of them have also joined the European Union and
NATO. Since 2002, many member states of the European Union have switched
to a single currency - the euro.
Europe is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and their seas.
The area of Europe is 10.2 million km², with about 730 thousand
km² falling on the islands. The length from north to south is 3900 km,
and from west to east - 5200 km. In terms of territory, it is only
slightly larger than Canada, but much smaller than Russia. The
peninsulas account for about 1/4 of the territory of Europe (Kola,
Scandinavian, Pyrenean, Apennine, Balkan, etc.).
The average
height is about 300 m, the maximum (if the border of Europe is drawn
along the Kumo-Manych depression) is 4808 m, Mont Blanc, or (when the
border of Europe is drawn along the Caucasus Range) is 5642 m, Elbrus,
the minimum is currently approx. . −27 meters (Caspian Sea) and changes
along with fluctuations in the level of this sea.
Plains prevail
(large - East European, Central European, Middle and Lower Danube, Paris
basin), mountains occupy about 17% of the territory (the main ones are
the Alps, the Caucasus, the Carpathians, the Crimean, Pyrenees,
Apennines, the Urals, the Scandinavian mountains, the mountains of the
Balkan Peninsula) . There are active volcanoes in Iceland and the
Mediterranean.
In most of the territory, the climate is temperate
(in the west - oceanic, in the east - continental, with snowy and frosty
winters), in the northern islands - subarctic and arctic, in southern
Europe - Mediterranean, in the Caspian lowland - semi-desert. On the
islands of the Arctic, in Iceland, the Scandinavian mountains, the Alps
- glaciation (area over 116 thousand km²).
Main rivers: Volga,
Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Western Dvina, Don, Pechora, Kama, Oka, Belaya,
Dniester, Rhine, Elbe, Vistula, Tahoe, Loire, Oder, Neman, Ebro.
Large lakes: Ladoga, Onega, Peipsi, Venern, Balaton, Geneva.
On
the islands of the Arctic and along the coast of the Arctic Ocean -
arctic deserts and tundras, to the south - forest-tundras, taiga, mixed
and broad-leaved forests, forest-steppes, steppes, subtropical
Mediterranean forests and shrubs; in the southeast - semi-deserts.
The largest sandy desert in Europe, Ryn-sands (40,000 km²), is
located between the Volga and Ural rivers (on the territory of
Kazakhstan and Russia), in Western Europe, the Tabernas massif in Spain,
as well as the Nogai steppe in Russia on borderlands of Kalmykia,
Dagestan and Chechnya. In addition, there has been desertification of
vast areas in Kalmykia, Russia, as a result of human activities in the
industrial extraction of water from natural sources and irrational land
use. In the zone of dry steppes in the east of Europe, there are a
number of sandy massifs in Russia on the lower Don (Archedinsky-Don
sands, Tsimlyansky sands, etc.), as well as on the territory of Ukraine
(Aleshkovsky sands).
Andreas Kaplan believes that Europe is a
region with the maximum cultural diversity in a relatively small
geographical area.
In 2008, Europe was the richest continent in the world in terms of
assets under management, with a total of over US$32.7 trillion compared
to North America's US$27.1 trillion. In 2009, total assets under
management in Europe accounted for a third of global assets. However,
the financial crisis of 2007-2008 weakened the credit ratings of many
countries and caused the eurozone debt crisis. Before the crisis,
Europe's GDP was at its peak.
The level of well-being in Europe
varies greatly. The richest countries are mainly located in Western and
Northern Europe, the poorer ones are in many Eastern European countries
and the Balkans. According to the World Bank (2011-2018), the richest
countries in Europe in terms of GDP (PPP) per capita are Luxembourg,
Ireland, Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The poorest countries
are Moldova, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Serbia.
According to the International Monetary Fund (2018), four European
countries are among the ten largest economies in the world by gross
domestic product: Germany, the UK, France and Italy. The total European
GDP per capita in 2016 was $21,767.
In 2002, a total of 12 member
states of the European Union adopted a single currency, the euro. Today,
the euro is used in 19 EU countries, as well as in four non-EU
ministries.
The main financial centers of Europe are London,
Zurich, Geneva and Frankfurt.
In 2018, the largest European
company by turnover was the Dutch-British energy company Royal Dutch
Shell, the third largest company in the world with a turnover of over
US$396 billion. Other European companies in the world's top 20 that same
year were British oil and gas company BP, German automotive company
Volkswagen AG, Swiss mining and raw materials company Glencore, German
automotive company Daimler AG, and French oil company Total.
About 740 million people currently live in Europe. Europe is a
relatively densely populated continent, with an average of over 70
people per square kilometer. Particularly densely populated countries
include England, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. By contrast, in
Eastern and Northern Europe population density is low in many places.
Population growth in Europe is slow compared to other parts of the
world due to, among other things, low birth rates. On the contrary, the
population is aging rapidly: in 2005, the proportion of people over 65
was 16%, and by 2050, it is estimated to increase to 28%.
Europeans have a high life expectancy. In about half of European
countries, it exceeds 80 years. The longest is in Switzerland, Italy and
Spain (more than 83 years) and the shortest is in Moldova, Ukraine,
Russia and Kazakhstan (about 72-73 years).
In Europe, 230 languages are spoken, which is only 3% of the
world's languages. More than 90% of its population speaks Indo-European
languages. The largest Indo-European language groups are the Slavic,
Germanic and Romance languages. Slavic languages are spoken especially
in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe, including Russian, Belarusian,
Ukrainian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian,
Montenegrin, Slovenian, Macedonian. On the other hand, Germanic
languages are spoken primarily in Central and Northern Europe,
including English, German and Scandinavian languages. The Romance
languages are more concentrated in the southern parts of Europe,
including French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian (Moldavian).
Smaller Indo-European language groups include, for example, the Celtic
and Baltic languages. Greek and Albanian are also Indo-European
languages.
Among the non-Indo-European languages of the
indigenous population of Europe, a significant part belongs to the
Uralic language family. Their Finno-Ugric branch of this family includes
Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian, Vepsian, Estonian, Votic, Hungarian,
Udmurt, Komi-Zyryan, Komi-Permyak, Mountain Mari, Meadow Mari, Moksha,
Erzya, a group of Sami languages. Their Samoyedic branch of the Uralic
languages includes, for example, the Nenets language.
The
non-Indo-European languages spoken among the indigenous population of
Europe also include the languages of the Altaic language family;
Numerous Turkic languages stand out in their composition: Chuvash,
Karagash, Nogai, Kazakh, Bashkir, Tatar, Karaim, Crimean Tatar, Gagauz,
Turkish, as well as North Caucasian languages. The Mongolian group
includes, for example, the Kalmyk language.
Maltese (apart from
Hebrew) is the only language belonging to the Semitic language group.
Basque is an isolated language.
About 75% of Europeans are Christians and 8% Muslims. About 17% of
Europeans do not profess any religion. Jews are less than one percent.
Most of the inhabitants of Southwestern Europe are Catholics.
Central Europe is home to large numbers of Catholics and Protestants in
many places. In the countries of Northern Europe and Great Britain, the
majority of the population is Protestant, while in Eastern Europe there
are more Orthodox. Most Muslims live in the European parts of Russia,
Kazakhstan and Turkey, partly in the Caucasus and in some countries of
the Balkan Peninsula: in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, and
North Macedonia; The mass migration of the Muslim population to Europe
has formed numerous Muslim diasporas in most countries of Western and
Northern Europe.
Kalmykia is the only region in Europe where
Buddhism is traditionally practiced.
Europe is usually divided into Northern and Southern, Western and
Eastern, as well as Central. This division is rather arbitrary,
especially since not only purely geographical, but also political
factors come into play here. Some countries, depending on the point of
view, may be assigned to different groups of states.
In Soviet
times, the division of Europe into East and West often had a political
connotation - Eastern Europe included the GDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia and the USSR - the
socialist countries, or, as they were also called, "countries of
people's democracy ". All other states belonged to Western Europe. At
the same time, Spain, Portugal, the south of France, Italy, Malta,
Cyprus, Greece and Turkey were also called Southern Europe, and Iceland,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland - Northern Europe.
At
present, after the collapse of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia,
Central Europe includes Austria, Switzerland and Poland, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Romania,
Hungary, and sometimes the Baltic countries (the latter are more often
included in Northern Europe) . To Eastern Europe - physiographically
Russia (only a part in Europe), Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan (only a
part in Europe), Moldova. Sometimes, for political reasons, the
countries of Transcaucasia (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia) are included
in Eastern Europe. To Western Europe - Great Britain, Ireland, France
and other countries, including the physical and geographically Central
European Germany. Some sources retain the old division.
In the post-World War II period until 1989-1991, Europe was the
central scene of the Cold War between the Western (capitalist) and
Eastern (socialist) blocs. Most of the countries of Western Europe at
that time, in military and political terms, united within the framework
of NATO. Social and legal integration was provided by the Council of
Europe, economic - by the European Economic Community. In the east of
the continent, the Warsaw Pact Organization acted as a military
integration structure, and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance as
an economic one; in both, the USSR played a dominant role.
After
the collapse of the socialist regimes, the situation changed markedly.
Most of the countries of the former "socialist camp" reoriented towards
Western structures. Currently, more than half of the states of Europe
are members of the European Union and NATO, and almost all the rest
declare their desire to join these organizations. On the one hand, this
created the preconditions for the EU to become a political player on a
truly global scale. On the other hand, the heterogeneity of the
composition of the Union has a negative impact on its ability to develop
common positions on certain issues.
The leaders of political
processes in Europe are Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy. A
significant role in the integration processes is played by the small
countries of Western Europe (the Benelux countries, the Scandinavian
states, Ireland), which have largely benefited from the development of
the EU. A special place is occupied by the former socialist countries,
which hope to improve their economic situation through participation in
the European Union. The Balkan Peninsula remains a hotbed of
instability, where the conflict situations that arose during the
collapse of Yugoslavia have not yet been resolved. So far, the political
and economic future of the former Soviet republics, including those in
the Caucasus, remains unclear. The attitude in Europe and the desire of
predominantly Muslim Turkey to become more involved in European affairs
are ambiguous.
European countries are members of various international
organizations, most of which are organizations of an economic and
political nature. The main international associations in Europe are
listed below.
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is the
only pan-European organization with almost all European countries as its
members. Currently, 46 states are members of the Council of Europe. The
goals of the Council of Europe are programs to smooth out contradictions
between the legislative bases of European countries in such areas as
human rights, citizenship, private international law, protection of the
environment and cultural heritage, protection of the rights of national
minorities, and the like.
European Union
The European Union,
the abbreviated name of the EU, is a supranational association of 27
European states. Within the framework of the Union, many programs are
supervised. Within the framework of the EU, there is a single market,
which includes a customs union, a monetary union (a single European
currency - the euro, operates on the territory of 19 of the 27 members
of the European Union), a common policy in the field of agriculture and
fisheries. The European Union is also taking measures to coordinate the
actions of member countries in the field of policy. There are also
tendencies towards coordination of actions in the field of defense and
common foreign policy. The Union is gradually evolving from an economic
organization to a supranational one. At present, the combined GDP of the
European Union is the largest in the world at US$15.849 trillion.
Also within Europe there are the following associations:
Eurozone
Schengen Area
Customs Union
European Economic Area
European
Free Trade Association
Commonwealth of Independent States
The
Commonwealth of Independent States is an organization consisting of 9
former republics of the Soviet Union (except for the Baltic countries,
Ukraine and Georgia). The CIS does not have supranational powers and is
more of a symbolic organization operating in the field of coordinating
interaction between the member countries of the Commonwealth. The main
goals of the CIS are the implementation of cooperation in the political,
economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other fields;
peaceful resolution of disputes; interstate cooperation and integration;
protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens of member countries.
The main topics of discussion are plans to create a single market like
the EU, as well as the fight against cross-border crime.
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance whose
members are mainly European countries, but also the United States and
Canada. NATO was created as an organization to rally the Western
European countries under the command of the United States against the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and its allies. The basis of the
organization is an agreement on collective defense in the event of an
attack on any of the member states.
OSCE
The Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe is the largest regional security
organization, which includes 56 states of Europe, Central and Central
Asia, and North America.
The organization aims to prevent the
emergence of conflicts in the region, resolve crisis situations, and
eliminate the consequences of conflicts.
northern council
The
Nordic Council (founded in 1952) and the Nordic Council of Ministers
(founded in 1971) are an organization for coordinating cooperation
between the parliaments and governments of the Nordic countries. Member
countries: Denmark, Finland (since 1956), Iceland, Norway, Sweden. The
governing bodies are located in Copenhagen.
CEAST
The Central
European Free Trade Association is an international organization that is
the successor to the Visegrad Agreement between countries that are not
members of the EU, signed on December 21, 1992. At the moment, the
members of this organization are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of
Kosovo. Prior to joining the EU, the members of the organization were:
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and
Slovenia.
Benelux
Benelux is a political, economic and customs
union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, created on February 3,
1958. It has its own parliament and court, which includes
representatives of three states.
GUAM
The organization was
established in 1997 by four countries: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan,
Moldova (GUAM). The main office is located in the capital of Ukraine -
Kyiv. From April 1999 to 2006, the organization also included Uzbekistan
and it was called GUUAM.
CDC
An organization consisting of
nine countries: Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia,
North Macedonia, Romania and Georgia. Created as an alternative to the
CIS. Established on December 2, 2005 at the founding forum in Kyiv
(Ukraine).
EAEU
The Eurasian Economic Union is an international economic
organization of a number of post-Soviet states that is engaged in the
formation of common external customs borders, the development of a
common foreign economic policy, tariffs, prices and other components of
the functioning of the common market.
CSTO
Collective Security
Treaty Organization - the organization includes Russia, Belarus,
Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.
Within the framework
of the CSTO, joint military exercises are being held. The purpose of the
organization is to jointly repel aggression in the event of an attack on
any state party to the treaty.
Arctic Council
The Arctic
Council is an international organization established in 1989 at the
initiative of Finland to protect the unique nature of the northern polar
zone. The Arctic Council includes eight subarctic countries: Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA. Observer
countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland,
Spain.
Baltic Assembly
The Baltic Assembly is an advisory body
for cooperation between the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania, founded in 1991. The Assembly coordinates actions, advises
the parliaments of the three countries and declares agreed positions in
the form of resolutions, decisions and recommendations.
Council
of the Baltic Sea States
The Council of the Baltic Sea States - was
established on March 5-6, 1992 in Copenhagen at the conference of
foreign ministers of the Baltic Sea countries. It included Germany,
Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden,
Estonia, as well as the Commission of the European Communities.
Barents Euro-Arctic Council
Forum of Regional Cooperation. The
Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) was established in 1993. It included
as permanent members Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland and
Sweden, as well as the Commission of the European Communities (CEC).
Nine states - Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands,
Poland, France, the USA, Japan - have the status of observers.
Union State of Russia and Belarus
Confederate Union of the Russian
Federation and the Republic of Belarus with a single political,
economic, military, customs, currency, legal, humanitarian, cultural
space organized in stages.
UEFA
The Union of European Football
Associations is the governing body for football in Europe and parts of
Western Asia. It unites the national football associations of European
countries. UEFA organizes all European competitions for clubs and
national teams, distributes advertising and broadcasting revenues
between clubs and national associations that are part of it.
In
addition to the countries listed above, UEFA also includes Israel
(Israeli Football Association), located entirely in Asia.
Continental Europe
Continental Europe is a term that refers to
mainland Europe.
Excluded: Greek islands, Cyprus, Malta, Sicily,
Sardinia, Corsica, Balearic Islands, Great Britain, Ireland, Novaya
Zemlya, Svalbard, Madeira, Azores, Iceland, part of Denmark and the
Faroe Islands.
The Scandinavian countries (Sweden and Norway) are
sometimes excluded because their connection to the rest of the continent
is through the Baltic and North Seas (not counting the long journey
first north to Finland and then south to Central Europe).
There
is an old idea of continental Europe (“the core of Europe”,
“Kerneuropa”): this is the territory of the Carolingian empire
(present-day France, Italy and Germany) and the Benelux (the historical
region of Austrasia).