Suchergebnisse

Prospective member states of the European Union (EU) need to achieve a free market economy. This article provides a review of the thorough & fairly quick conversion of the economies of the New Member States (NMS). Between 1990-94, however, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the NMS decreased dramatically. Afterwards, the situation improved, mainly due to EU policies to facilitate the accession process. This process was based on 3 principles: establishment of a free trade zone between the EU & each of the NMS, acceptance of & compliance with the EU Acquis Communautaire, & financial & administrative aid to NMS. Furthermore, the article describes the economic, monetary, & budgetary implications of joining the EU. Finally, the article describes the socioeconomic situation in the NMS before the actual accession. 6 Tables, 19 References. A. Michaux

The political map of Europe was transformed by the collapse of the Soviet Union & the reunification of Germany, ending four decades of stability & leading to new political configurations: the emergence of the independent Baltic states -- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania -- with regional links not only to neighboring Russia but to Western Europe as well. The recent political history of the Baltic states is summarized, from their interwar independence to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact & their renewed independence in the early 1990s. Also discussed are postindependence demographic & social problems & prospects in the Baltics: the presence of large Russian minorities, language tests for citizenship, & the states' aspirations for European Union membership. The European Union has tried to serve as go-between for the region, & there are especially close & positive ties between the Baltic states & the Nordic countries. A. Siegel

Most theorists on international relations agree on recognizing natural resources, economic strength, technological development, political stability, & military strength as the five bases of a state's power. This unanimity is in sharp contrast with the divergences in the operationalizations of the power of states. Most operationalizations use only one or two bases of a state's power & thus are very limited in scope. Therefore, the demand for an operationalization sticking as closely as possible to the unanimity among theorists forces itself on the researcher. An attempt is made to transform the theoretical unanimity into an operational measure. Each power basis represented by partial indicators is listed: (1) natural resources--area, population, production of energy, (2) economic strength--gross national product, energy consumption, monetary stability, (3) technological development--level of alphabetization, number of students in higher education, scientific production & infrastructure, (4) political stability--length of independence, internal stability, & (5) military strength--number of men in the armed forces, conventional weapons, nuclear strength. The operationalization was obtained by granting all five power bases an equal share in the index & by giving an equal weight to the sums of the arithmetical values for fifteen partial indicators & thus, for the five indicators. The nation's power-index, thus obtained, was applied to 110 nation states as they existed at the beginning of the '70s. On this power scale, ratings differ from 29,046 indexpoints of world power (IWM) for the US to 276 IWM for Gambia & even less for a number of the smaller states that could not be investigated. Modified HA.

A little appreciated member of the international community in 2004, Belgium has developed the previous years into a constructive diplomatic element that takes to heart its international responsibility (examples: troops in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Balkans, and an effective diplomatic intervention concerning the Democratic Republic of Congo). Responsibly for this success are called Belgian impartiality, its open ears, imagination and collaboration regarding multilateralism. Furthermore, the EU's enlargement by 10 states is discussed, the rejecting of the European Constitution by France and the Netherlands, and the strengthened position of the BENELUX within the EU. A second topic: relations with the neighboring countries France, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg. A last item discusses cooperation in multilateral development projects. References. O. van Zijl

Westerse tradities / Leni Franken, Stijn Latré, Patrick Loobuyck -- Oosterse tradities en atheïsme / Leni Franken, Patrick Loobuyck -- Religie en levensbeschouwing in Belgie / Patrick Loobuyck -- Kleine geschiedenis van religieuze (in)tolerantie / Patrick Loobuyck -- Hedendaags politiek liberalisme / Patrick Loobuyck -- Geloof, rede en wetenschap : vroeger en nu / Patrick Loobuyck -- Homo sapiens, homo faber, homo religiosus : samenspel en disharmonie / Walter Van Herck, Patrick Loobuyck.