MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union (EU) and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of EU membership. Unlike the membership of an international organisation, EU membership places each member under binding laws in exchange for representation in the EU's legislative and judicial institutions. On the other hand, EU states retain considerable autonomy compared to the constituent states of a federation, maintaining their national military and foreign policy (where they have not agreed to European action in these areas).

There are twenty-eight member states of the EU. Six core states founded the EU's predecessor, the European Economic Community, in 1957 and the remaining states joined in subsequent enlargements. Having acceded on 1 July 2013, Croatia is the newest state of the EU. Before being allowed to join the EU, a state must fulfil the economic and political conditions generally known as the Copenhagen criteria. These essentially require a candidate to have a democratic, free market government together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect the rule of law. Enlargement of the Union is contingent upon the agreement of each existing member and the candidate's adoption of all pre-existing EU law.
There is a wide disparity in the size, wealth and political system of member states, but all have equal rights. 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.

THE EURO

The euro is the single currency shared by 17 of the European Union's Member States, which together make up the euro area. The introduction of the euro in 1999 was a major step in European integration. It has also been one of its major successes: around 330 million EU citizens now use it as their currency and enjoy its benefits, which will spread even more widely as other EU countries adopt the euro.

When the euro was launched on 1 January 1999, it became the new official currency of 11 Member States, replacing the old national currencies – such as the Deutschmark and the French franc – in two stages. First the euro was introduced as an accounting currency for cashless payments and accounting purposes, while the old currencies continued to be used for cash payments. Since 1 January 2002 the euro has been circulating in physical form, as banknotes and coins. The euro is not the currency of all EU Member States. Two countries (Denmark and the United Kingdom) have ‘opt-out’ clauses in the Treaty exempting them from participation, while the remainder (several of the more recently acceded EU members plus Sweden) have yet to meet the conditions for adopting the single currency.

Which countries have adopted the euro - and when?

ü 1999Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy,

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland

ü 2001 Greece

ü 2002 Introduction of euro banknotes and coins

ü 2007 Slovenia

ü 2008 Cyprus, Malta

ü 2009 Slovakia

ü 2011 Estonia

SUPPLEMENT II

World Economic Forum Davos

Once again the rich and powerful are congregating in Davos in the Swiss mountains for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) – but does the forum still have a purpose?

What is the World Economic Forum?

The WEF is a talking shop. Arguably, though, it’s the best of its kind in the world.

The concept dates back to the early 1970s, and is very simple. Take top business leaders out of the pressure cooker of their job and bring them together in a remote valley in the Swiss mountains. Removed from daily routine they can freely exchange ideas, broaden horizons – and break the ground for a deal or two.

Professor Klaus Schwab, who invented and still runs the event, calls it “a platform for collaborative thinking and searching for solutions, not for making decisions”.

Over the years it’s evolved, taking in artists, politicians of all stripes, activists from trade unions and campaign groups, entrepreneurs, inventors, all sorts of clever people from universities and think tanks.

That doesn’t sound like a small event anymore …

What started as a cosy chat around the log fire in a mountain chalet is now a huge event, with more than 2,500 participants from nearly 100 countries, hundreds of journalists, about 50 heads of state or government and numerous other politicians.

The key ingredient, though, is the 1,600 bosses of many of the world’s top companies – not just from the West, but from emerging economies as well.

And this is just the annual meeting, traditionally held in the Swiss mountain village of Davos.

The once-a-year event has evolved into a year-round succession of regional forums in all corners of the world, plus working groups bringing together key decision makers on global issues such as cyber security, global risks, and fighting corruption and poverty.

All these activities are supposed to underpin the forum’s official motto: “Committed to improving the state of the world”.

And I thought it was just a bunch of capitalists having a good time in the mountains…

Well, that’s one way to see it. Yes, Davos is about the rich and the powerful having a good time. The parties and exclusive dinners, the deal making and schmoozing – and the skiing – are legendary.

But you have to give the forum’s organisers some credit: every year they are trying hard to put tough topics on the agenda and add inconvenient voices to the mix. Fighting poverty, climate change and the shortcomings of banks and companies are always big themes here.

Also remember that the forum often provides the cover for political enemies to meet, gain mutual understanding, and even strike a peace deal.

And then there is the fabled “Davos consensus”, when a common theme emerges that sets the global agenda for the months to come.

What are this year’s big topics?

It’s always hard to tell, but it looks like one of the big issues will be, now that there are signs of growth again in many developed economies, how can that growth he made more inclusive?

There’s always lots of interest in the latest technological developments and what challenges and opportunities they could create for businesses.

And the Forum is setting out to explore how a world population of nine billion people could be sustained.

How does it work?

It’s obviously big, and in a strange way it is both free-flowing and utterly regimented. The fairly rigid framework is provided by hundreds of official sessions- panels, speeches and workshops-ranging from a keynote speech from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to a bunch of Nobel Prize-winning economists discussing the year’s economic challenges to a panel discussing how video games are affecting the next generation.

The free-flowing is everything in between. There are numerous private sessions and bilateral meetings. The corridors of the concrete-and-wood confection of a conference centre are host to constant networking and schmoozing.

Here you can hear financial regulators criticize top bankers, trade unionists challenge the bosses of the world’s biggest multinationals, and the finest minds in economics discuss the finer points of quantitative easing.

And what will the outcome be?

Don’t expect any. Not even the organisers do. They say that’s not the forum’s purpose.

But if participants go away with new ideas, new connections, a better awareness of the world around them, and fresh ideas on how to tackle its problems, Davos may well have served its purpose once again.

I. Vocabulary

world economic forum (WEF) – Всемирный экономический форум

talking shop (разг.) – “говорильня”

arguably – бесспорно

break the ground – подготавливать почву

evolve – развиваться, эволюционировать

politicians of all stripes – политики разного рода

think tank – мозговой центр

emerging economies – страны с развивающейся экономикой

global issues – глобальные проблемы

underpin – лежать в основе

motto – девиз

committed to – приверженный ч-л

schmoozing sl. – обхаживание, неофициальные разговоры

networking – налаживание связей

give smb credit – отдавать к-л должное

put tough topics on the agenda – включать сложные темы в повестку

set the global agenda – определять глобальную повестку

provide the cover – обеспечить прикрытие

strike a peace deal – заключить соглашение о мире

Inclusive growth – инклюзивный рост

free-flowing (зд.) – свободный

regimented – строго регламентированный

rigid framework – жесткие рамки

panels – группа специалистов для обсуждения к-л вопроса

workshops – семинары

keynote speech – основное выступление

finer points – более сложные / тонкие аспекты / пункты

quantitative easing – количественное смягчение

awareness – осознание, понимание

tackle a problem – заняться решением проблемы

serve one’s purpose – выполнять свое предназначение

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