The 2004 CIA World Factbook

by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Estonia
After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian
rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated
into the USSR in 1940, it regained its freedom in 1991, with the
collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in
1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties
with Western Europe. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of
2004.

Ethiopia
Unique among African countries, the ancient Ethiopian
monarchy maintained its freedom from colonial rule, one exception
being the Italian occupation of 1936-41. In 1974 a military junta,
the Derg, deposed Emperor Haile SELASSIE (who had ruled since 1930)
and established a socialist state. Torn by bloody coups, uprisings,
wide-scale drought, and massive refugee problems, the regime was
finally toppled by a coalition of rebel forces, the Ethiopian
People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), in 1991. A
constitution was adopted in 1994 and Ethiopia's first multiparty
elections were held in 1995. A two and a half year border war with
Eritrea ended with a peace treaty on 12 December 2000. Final
demarcation of the boundary is currently on hold due to Ethiopian
objections to an international commission's finding requiring it to
surrender sensitive territory.

Europa Island
A French possession since 1897, the island is heavily
wooded; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a
weather station.

European Union

Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all of Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.

The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since.

In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined to the EU, raising the membership total to 15.

A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it became the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gives member states two years to ratify the document before it is scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006.

Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members.

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
Although first sighted by an
English navigator in 1592, the first landing (English) did not occur
until almost a century later in 1690, and the first settlement
(French) was not established until 1764. The colony was turned over
to Spain two years later and the islands have since been the subject
of a territorial dispute, first between Britain and Spain, then
between Britain and Argentina. The UK asserted its claim to the
islands by establishing a naval garrison there in 1833. Argentina
invaded the islands on 2 April 1982. The British responded with an
expeditionary force that landed seven weeks later and after fierce
fighting forced Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982.