Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD, European Union, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Anna Záborská is a Slovak politician of the Christian Union party, living in Bojnice. From 2004 to 2019 she was a Member of the European Parliament, where she was a member of the Group of the European People's Party (EPP). She was a member of the Christian Democratic Movement party (KDH).
Stavros Lambrinidis is a Greek lawyer and politician, currently serving as Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations. He was previously Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from March 2019 until December 2023, European Union special representative for human rights from 2012 to 2019 and Minister for Foreign Affairs in Greece from June 2011 to November 2011.
Although there has been a large degree of integration between European Union member states, foreign relations is still a largely intergovernmental matter, with the 27 states controlling their own relations to a large degree. However, with the Union holding more weight as a single entity, there are at times attempts to speak with one voice, notably on trade and energy matters. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy personifies this role.
Relations between the European Union and the United States began in 1953, when US diplomats visited the European Coal and Steel Community in addition to the national governments of its six founding countries. The two parties share a good relationship which is strengthened by NATO, cooperation on trade, and shared values.
The Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The Enterprise Directorate-General works on creating an environment in which European firms can thrive. The improvement of the business environment is to lead to a growth in productivity and subsequently create the jobs and wealth necessary to achieve the objectives set by the European Council in Lisbon in March 2000.
The Directorate-General for Trade is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The European Commission's Directorate- General for Trade develops and implements the EU's trade policy in order to help secure prosperity, solidarity and security in Europe and around the globe. It covers a wide area from manufactured goods to services, intellectual property and investment.
The Directorate-General for International Partnerships is the European Commission department responsible for international development policy. It operates under the authority of the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, currently Jutta Urpilainen.
The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in 2009 is the 20/20/20 objectives, binding for all EU Member States. The target involved increasing the share of renewable energy in its final energy use to 20%, reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and increase energy efficiency by 20%. After this target was met, new targets for 2030 were set at a 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the European Green Deal. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU's energy policy turned more towards energy security in their REPowerEU policy package, which boosts both renewable deployment and fossil fuel infrastructure for alternative suppliers.
Northern Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey, a country which facilitates many of its contacts with the international community. After it was occupied by Turkey, Northern Cyprus' relations with the rest of the world were further complicated by a series of United Nations resolutions which declared its independence legally invalid. A 2004 UN Referendum on settling the Cyprus dispute was accepted by the Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek Cypriots. After that, the European Union declared its intentions to assist in reducing the economic isolation of Northern Cyprus and began giving aid to the territory. However, due to pressure from Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, this aid coming from EU funds cannot be used on Greek Cypriot land and property nor on public bodies. As a result, these funds can be used only on 29 percent of people on the island of Cyprus.
Androulla Vassiliou is a Cypriot and European politician. Between March 2008 and February 2010, she was the European Commissioner for Health, and then, until November 2014, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth. Vassiliou is very active in social and cultural fields particularly within the UN and EU. In Cyprus she has held many important posts and is on the Board of many public and private companies.
Relations between Canada and the European Union (EU) and its forerunners date back to the 1950s. While the relationship is primarily an economic one, there are also matters of political cooperation. Canadians also use English and French — both European languages — as official and majority languages.
The Enterprise Europe Network is a cross-border business network that provides support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to innovate and grow internationally. It is co-funded by the European Union's COSME and Horizon 2020 programmes.
European Union–Pakistan relations are the international relations between the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. There has been no EU State Leader's visit for over twenty years.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.
Cyprus–Serbia relations are considered as strong, due to common European policies and the sharing of Orthodoxy as a common religion. Cyprus has been a supporter of Serbia in its efforts to join the EU. Likewise, Serbia has been advocating a stable Cyprus after the Turkish invasion in 1974 and supporting a lasting solution to the Cyprus dispute. Cyprus has an embassy in Belgrade. Serbia has an embassy in Nicosia.
Ivan Štefanec is a Slovak politician and business manager, former member of the Slovak Parliament and current member of the European Parliament for Christian Democratic Movement.
Tomasz Edward Kozłowski is a Polish diplomat, Poland ambassador to Pakistan (2001–2003), European Union ambassador to South Korea (2011–2015) and India (2015–2019).
A global energy crisis began in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, with much of the globe facing shortages and increased prices in oil, gas and electricity markets. The crisis was caused by a variety of economic factors, including the rapid post-pandemic economic rebound that outpaced energy supply, and escalated into a widespread global energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The price of natural gas reached record highs, and as a result, so did electricity in some markets. Oil prices hit their highest level since 2008.
