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Europe Stats• Europe is home to 1/7 of the World’s population

(this includes Russia)• Currently 47 countries in Europe• Very Urban (72%)• Population growth:

– Stagnate or shrinking– Estimated population trends:

• 2000: 875 million• 2050: 765 million

Size: US and Europe

EU Timeline• 1952 six countries created a common market for

steel and coal called the European Coal and Steel Community– These guys are known as the “Inner Six” in the EU:

Belgium, Germany (West), France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands

• 1958 the same countries created the European Economic Community– became known as the Common market

• 1993 the 12 Common Market Countries formed the EU

• Currently there are 27 countries in the EU; Croatia is scheduled to join as 28 in June 2013

• In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize – "that dreadful suffering in World War II demonstrated

the need for a new Europe [...] today war between Germany and France is unthinkable. This shows how, through well-aimed efforts and by building up mutual confidence, historical enemies can become close partners” –The Nobel Committee

The European Union• Supranational

organization – “Supra” means

over or on top of, the EU is over the national governments

• Goals of the EU– Peace,

prosperity, and economic well being (FAIL)

– Create jobs, protect citizens’ rights, preserve environment

Forces within the EU

Forces Uniting the EU• Euro• Large Trade Bloc makes it a

very tempting market for outside nations

• Works to develop resources• Upgrade highways and

transportation• Modernization of farms

Forces Dividing the EU• W. Europe is wealthier than

East– Money goes to aid poorer

countries

• Workers in West tend to be paid more– Lead to workers moving to

wealthier countries– Businesses move to poorer

countries

The Euro

Governance of the EU• Seven Major Institutions

– The European Parliament and The Council of the EU (In Brussels)

• Legislators; make, scrutinize, and carry out laws

– The European Commission and The European Council (In Brussels)

• Carries our executive tasks• The Council is a meeting of the leaders of Europe

– The European Central Bank (In Frankfurt)• Monetary policy, Euro

– The Court of Justice of the EU (In Luxembourg)• Interpretation of Law and treaties

– The European Court of Auditors (In Luxembourg)• EU budget

*Brussels is the nominal capital of the EU*

Eurozone Crisis• 17 of the EU countries adopted the Euro in 2002 (it was

announced in 1999)• The countries whose interest rates fell most as a result of the euro

are Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy (see where this is going?)

• These countries began borrowing loads of money• After the financial crisis, governments in these countries had to

bail out their banks in order to prevent systemic failure– increased the already high levels of public debt to a unsustainable

rate, increasing government bond interest rates– Known as the sovereign debt crisis or Eurozone crisis

Eurozone Interest Rates

Sovereign Debt Crisis• US economic crisis in 2008 (bad

times)• Led to financial crisis in Europe• Iceland’s banks completely failed

and their government collapsed. They are better now.

• Germany bailed out the poorer countries so the Euro would not collapse– Put Austerity measures into place– Led to tension and riots

• Currently the Euro looks like it will survive, but there is still tension due to the austerity plans

The United Nations• We’ve mentioned the UN quite a

bit in this class, but what is it?• Purpose of the UN (quoted from

the UN Charter)– to maintain international peace

and security;– to develop friendly relations

among nations; – to cooperate in solving

international problems and in promoting respect for human rights;

– and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

Who is in it?• Currently has 193 members• The UN Headquarters are in NYC with other main

offices in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. • Six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English,

French, Russian, and Spanish• So, who’s not in the UN?

– Vatican City is a Permanent Observer– Palestine was recognized as a "non-member state" on 29

November 2012– Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 but

has not gained complete international recognition to allow it to become a member of the United Nations because Russia will block it.

– Taiwan (The Republic of China) is excluded because China will not allow its acceptance by the UN Security Council where it holds a permanent veto right

Organization of the UN• General Assembly: The International Forum

– All member nations have one vote– Powers

• Discuss international problems• Make recommendations to nations and other bodies of the UN• Elect members of to other UN bodies• Suspend members violating UN principles• (there are a few other things, but these are the main ones)

– Meets once a year for about three months

Security Council• The executive body• Membership:

– Five of them are permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States.

– 10 are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms

– The adoption of a Council decision requires nine votes in favour.

• cannot adopt a decision if one of the permanent members casts a veto *this is why Kosovo and Taiwan aren’t in the UN*

• Powers– Investigate disputes that endanger world

peace– Make recommendations for peace– Call upon nations to take economic

(sanctions) or military actions • Security Council functions constantly

UN Security Council

Other Bodies• Secretariat

– Led by Secretary General (currently Ban Ki-Moon); performs administrative work

– Present the Security council anything threatening world peace, Diplomatic missions, UN emergency military forces

• International Court of Justice– 15 judges that settle legal

disputes between nations• Trusteeship Council (no

longer functioning) to protect colonial people

Agencies of the UN• UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific,

and Cultural Org.)– Seeks to raise educational awareness to

combat ignorance and prejudice

• WHO (World Health Org.)– Combats epidemics, health conditions

• World Bank– Provides loans and technical assistance to

developing countries to reduce poverty and advance sustainable economic growth.

• UNICEF (UN Int’l Children’s Emergency Fund)– Provides food, vitamins, medicine to needy

children; educates mothers

Peacekeeping• Peacekeepers

– The UN sends peacekeepers to regions where armed conflict has recently occurred to enforce the terms of peace agreements and to discourage resuming hostilities.

– The UN does not maintain its own military, forces are voluntarily provided by member states

– The forces are widely known for their blue UN helmets

• Currently there are 15 peacekeeping missions

NATO• military alliance signed on

4 April 1949• Currently 28 Countries• collective defense whereby its

member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.

• NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009.

• The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defense spending.

NATO: Military Intervention• conducted their first military

interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999.– effort to stop Slobodan Milošević's

Serbian-led crackdown on Albanian civilians in Kosovo

• The September 2001 attacks signaled the only occasion in NATO's history that Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty has been invoked as an attack on all NATO members– After the attack, troops were deployed to

Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF,– International Security Assistance

Force (ISAF), often called the Coalition Forces, is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the UN Security Council in December 2001

More NATO Military• 2011 enforcing a no-fly zone

over Libya • Article 4, invokes consultation

among NATO members has been invoked three times, and only by Turkey: – once in 2003 over the Second

Iraq War, – twice in 2012 over the Syrian

civil war after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria.

Population• Europe’s population

is shrinking– Has the oldest

population– Has the lowest birth

rate

• Why?– Living expenses are

high in Europe– Both parents work– Better contraceptives

Population Problems• Negative Growth

– Hurts economy: Less teachers, schools, kid’s products

– Less workers, businesses may move

– Fewer people in military• Aging Population

– Pensions (retirement)– Higher healthcare costs

• Declining Workforce– Not enough workers– Fewer workers=less taxes

Interesting Stuff• Population

– top ten most populous countries (in millions): China 1,343.24; India 1,205.07; United States 313.85; Indonesia 248.22; Brazil 205.72; Pakistan 190.29; Nigeria 170.12; Bangladesh 161.08; Russia 138.08; Japan 127.37 (July 2011 est.)

• Median age– total: 28.4 years

Birth rate– 19.14 births/1,000 population

note: this rate results in about 252 worldwide births per minute or 4.2 births every second (2011 est.)• Urbanization

– urban population: 50.5% of total population (2010) ten largest urban agglomerations: Tokyo - 36,669,000; Delhi - 22,157,000; Sao Paulo - 20,262,000; Mumbai - 20,041,000; Mexico City- 19,460,000; New York-Newark - 19,425,000; Shanghai - 16,575,000; Kolkata (India) - 15,552,000; Dhaka (Bangladesh) - 14,648,000; Karachi (Pakistan) - 13,125,000 (2009)

• Life expectancy at birth– total population: 67.59 years

male: 65.59 years female: 69.73 years (2011 est.)

• Total fertility rate– 2.47 children born/woman (2011 est.)

• Religions– Christian 33.35% , Muslim 22.43%, Hindu 13.78%, Buddhist 7.13%, Sikh 0.36%, Jewish 0.21%, Baha'i 0.11%, other religions

11.17%, non-religious 9.42%, atheists 2.04% (2009 est.)• Languages

– Mandarin Chinese 12.44%, Spanish 4.85%, English 4.83%, Arabic 3.25%, Hindi 2.68%, Bengali 2.66%, Portuguese 2.62%, Russian 2.12%, Japanese 1.8%, Standard German 1.33%, Javanese 1.25% (2009 est.) Literacy

– definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 83.7% male: 88.3% female: 79.2%

Ethnic Tensions• Basque• Balkans• Roma

Basque People• Northern Spain and Southern

France• distinct ethnic group, culturally

and linguistically distinct– Language is not Indo-European i.e. it

is from pre-Roman/pre-Celtic times

• Some Basques strongly nationalist– Many Basques regard designation as

an "ethnic minority" as incomplete, seeing themselves as a nation

– During the rule of Franco (1936-75)– Nowadays, extensive cultural and

political autonomy

Balkan People• Balkans is home to many different ethnic

groups• Following the collapse of the Soviet Unions,

rivalries arose between these ethnic groups• Four of Yugoslavia’s six republics declared

independence in 1991-92: Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia

• Two remained behind the government in Belgrade: Sebia and Montenegro

• Civil wars broke out (ethnic and religious) in Croatia and Bosnia– UN sent Peacekeepers

• By 1995, Croatia had evicted most Serbs• 1995 peace treaty signed by Bosnia, Serbia, and

Croatia– Divided Bosnia into a Muslim-Croat federation

• 1998, fighting broke out in Kosovo – Region in N. Serbia where ethnic Albanians 90% of

Pop.– Ethnic Albanians began guerilla war for

independence– President of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic refused

to give up Kosovo• Milosevic began “ethnic cleansing” against the Kosovars• NATO Peacekeepers sent in but no peace reached, NATO

forces began air attacks in 1999

Dailies: Contemporary

1. What countries make up the UK? What is Great Britain?

2. Why was the EU originally formed?

3. How does the size of Europe compare with the US? The Population?

4. What are the major goals of the EU?

5. What does supranational mean?

Dailies:• What happened to Iceland during the

financial crisis?• Which nations are NOT in the UN?• Why was the UN founded?• Who are the permanent members of

the Security council?• What is the mission of the UN

peacekeepers?