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A continental union is a regional organization which facilitates pan-continental integration.[ citation needed ] Continental unions vary from collaborative intergovernmental organizations, to supranational politico-economic unions. Continental unions are a relatively new type of political entity in the history of human government. Throughout most of human history, political organization has been at the local level (e.g. tribal, city state) and in more recent centuries, the sub-regional ("regional")/sub-continental level (e.g. river system/basin empires, the modern "nation-state"); however, starting with the advent of better transportation, weapons and communication there was for the first time the ability for a union of member states to organize at the continental level. After the devastation of the First and Second World Wars in the middle of the twentieth century, Europe began to slowly integrate with the founding of the "European Community", which became a political union covering much of the European continent (27 member states as of February 2023 [update] ). [1] [2] [3] [4]
The European Union (EU) is an supranational economic and political union [5] of 27 member states in Europe. Committed to integration and governance of European states and nations. The EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. [6] A European Parliament has been created, directly elected by citizens of the EU. With almost 450 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share (US$18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world product. [7]
The EU has developed a single market, Economic and Monetary Union, Customs Union, through a standardised system of laws which apply in all Union territory, ensuring the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. [8] It maintains common policies on trade, [9] agriculture, fisheries [10] and regional development. [11] Twenty member states have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the Eurozone. The EU has developed a limited role in foreign policy, having representation at the WTO, G8, G20 and at the UN. It enacts legislation in justice and home affairs, including the abolition of passport controls by an agreement between the member states which form the Schengen Area. [12]
The African Union (AU), at a size of 29,757,900 square kilometres (11,489,589 sq mi) and a population of 1 billion, is by far the largest of the existing continental unions in terms of both land mass and population. [13] It includes all African countries.
The African Union was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). [14] The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During the February 2009 Union meeting headed by former Libyan leader Gaddafi, it was resolved that the African Union Commission would become the African Union Authority. [15]
The African Union is made up of both political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ of the African Union is the Assembly, made up of all the heads of state or government of member states of the AU. As of 2017, the Assembly is chaired by Alpha Condé. The AU also has a representative body, the Pan-African Parliament, which consists of 265 members elected by the national parliaments of the AU member states. The current president of the Pan-African Parliament is Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi. Other political institutions of the AU include the Executive Council, made up of foreign ministers, which prepares decisions for the Assembly; the Permanent Representatives Committee, made up of the ambassadors to Addis Ababa of AU member states; and the Economic, Social, and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), a civil society consultative body.
The Union of South American Nations (commonly referred to by its Spanish acronym UNASUR) is an intergovernmental union integrating two existing customs unions: Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations, as part of a continuing process of South American integration. It is modeled on the European Union, [16] and at one time included all of continental South America, except for French Guiana (which is an overseas department of France, and therefore part of the European Union). Panama and Mexico hold observer status.
The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty was signed on May 23, 2008, at the Third Summit of Heads of State, held in Brasília, Brazil. In accordance with the Treaty, the Secretariat is located in Quito, Ecuador and the seat of the planned South American Parliament is to be located in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The headquarters of the planned Bank of the South (BancoSur) were to be located in Caracas, Venezuela but have been delayed for numerous reasons. [17]
The South American Defence Council was formed on July 20, 2008, and had its first meeting on March 10, 2009. On May 4, 2010, the Heads of State of the Member States unanimously elected former Argentine President Néstor Kirchner as the first Secretary General of UNASUR.
In early 2019, the majority of South America had left UNASUR and formed a second continental union, the Forum for the Progress and Development of South America (commonly referred to as PROSUR).[ citation needed ]
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue is an intergovernmental organization created on 18 June 2002 to promote Asian cooperation at a continental level and to help integrate separate regional organizations such as the ASEAN, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the SAARC. [lower-alpha 1]
Although generally not considered a traditional continental union, the Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organization that spans the majority of states considered "European". As an intergovernmental organization, the council's focus is on political dialogue relating to the upholding of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. [lower-alpha 2]
The Eurasian Economic Union was founded in January 2015, consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and observer members Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Cuba; all of them (except Cuba) being previous constituent states of the Soviet Union. The Eurasian Union is a transcontinental union as members include states from both Europe and Asia.
The European Political Community (EPC), established in 2022, is an intergovernmental forum consisting of 47 states which focuses on political and strategic discussions about the future of Europe.
Although generally not considered a traditional continental union, the Organization of American States (OAS) is an intergovernmental organization that spans the majority of states considered within the Americas. As an intergovernmental organization, the OAS's focus is on political dialog relating to the purposes of regional solidarity, peace, and cooperation among the states of the Americas.
Although generally not considered a traditional continental union, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an intergovernmental organization that spans the majority of independent states and dependent territories within the Pacific Ocean. As an intergovernmental organization, the PIF's focus is on political dialog relating to the enhancement of cooperation and economic and social well-being among states within the Pacific Ocean.
Although generally not considered a traditional continental union, the Union for the Mediterranean is an intergovernmental organization and a transcontinental union as members include most states from Europe (including the whole European Union itself representing them with a full membership even if not all these countries are Mediterranean, and a few other European countries, notably applicants to the European Union which participate as observers), and most states bordering the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Western Asia (a few of them are observers, or are states whose membership is temporarily suspended).
In Canadian history and political science, the term "Continental Union" refers to the idea of creating a union between Canada and the United States, either by forming a new, super-national body in which both countries would become equal members, or by the United States annexing Canada. The ideology which favours Canadian integration with the United States, economically or politically, is known as "continentalism", the more radical version which favours Canada becoming part of the United States is called "annexationism". Continentalism has historically been one of three theories of Canadian nationality that predominated in English Canadian thought, the others being pro-British "Imperialism", and Canadian nationalism. [18] [19]
Additionally, the concept of a North American Union between Canada, the United States, and Mexico has been discussed in policy and academic circles since the concluding of the North American Free Trade Agreement. [20] [21]
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.
In international relations, intergovernmentalism treats states as the primary actors in the integration process. Intergovernmentalist approaches claim to be able to explain both periods of radical change in the European Union because of converging governmental preferences and periods of inertia because of diverging national interests.
The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty, brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signed on 25 March 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, and it came into force on 1 January 1958. Originally the "Treaty establishing the European Economic Community", and now continuing under the name "Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union", it remains one of the two most important treaties in what is now the European Union (EU).
The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community (EEC), the last of which was renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union. The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while the Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the European Union:
Neofunctionalism is a theory of regional integration which downplays globalisation and reintroduces territory into its governance. Neofunctionalism is often regarded as the first European integration theory developed by Ernst B. Haas in 1958 as part of his Ph.D. research on the European Coal and Steel Community. Neofunctionalism seeks to explain the European integration process and why states accept to become a part of supranational organization. Jean Monnet's approach to European integration, which aimed at integrating individual sectors in hopes of achieving spillover effects to further the process of integration, is said to have followed the neofunctional school's tack.
European integration is the process of industrial, economic, political, legal, social, and cultural integration of states wholly or partially in Europe, or nearby. European integration has primarily but not exclusively come about through the European Union and its policies.
A supranational union is a type of international organization and political union that is empowered to directly exercise some of the powers and functions otherwise reserved to states. A supranational organization involves a greater transfer of or limitation of state sovereignty than other kinds of international organizations.
The Union of South American Nations (USAN), sometimes also referred to as the South American Union, abbreviated in Spanish as UNASUR and in Portuguese as UNASUL, is an intergovernmental regional organization set up by Hugo Chavez to counteract the influence of the United States in the region. It once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn.
The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) is an intergovernmental organization created on 18 June 2002 to promote Asian cooperation at a continental level and to ensure coordination among different regional organizations such as the ASEAN, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the SAARC. It is the first international organization to cover the whole of Asia. Its secretariat is in Kuwait City.
The Davignon report, also referred to as the Luxembourg report, published on 27 October 1970, was a report on the future foreign policy of European Economic Community member nations. It was written by a council chaired by Étienne Davignon of the Belgian Foreign Office. The committee was appointed by the Council of the European Communities to make proposals on political cooperation between the member states. It recommended that member states should try to speak with a single voice on international problems, a proposal that was approved by all six member governments. It resulted first in European Political Cooperation and later in the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy in 1992.
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.
Continentalism refers to the agreements or policies that favor the regionalization and/or cooperation between states within a continent. The term is used more often in the European and North American contexts, but the concept has been applied to other continents including Africa, Asia and South America. In North American history, continentalism became linked to manifest destiny and involved merging continental expansion with international growth.
An inter-parliamentary institution is an organization of more than one national legislatures.
Regional organizations (ROs) are, in a sense, international organizations (IOs), as they incorporate international membership and encompass geopolitical entities that operationally transcend a single nation state. However, their membership is characterized by boundaries and demarcations characteristic to a defined and unique geography, such as continents, or geopolitics, such as economic blocs. They have been established to foster cooperation and political and economic integration or dialogue among states or entities within a restrictive geographical or geopolitical boundary. They both reflect common patterns of development and history that have been fostered since the end of World War II as well as the fragmentation inherent in globalization, which is why their institutional characteristics vary from loose cooperation to formal regional integration. Most ROs tend to work alongside well-established multilateral organizations such as the United Nations. While in many instances a regional organization is simply referred to as an international organization, in many others it makes sense to use the term regional organization to stress the more limited scope of a particular membership.
An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty or other type of instrument governed by international law and possesses its own legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and NATO. International organizations are composed of primarily member states, but may also include other entities, such as other international organizations, firms, and nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, entities may hold observer status. An alternative definition is that an international organization is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system.
Integration is a political and economic agreement among countries that gives preference to member countries to the agreement. General integration can be achieved in three different approachable ways: through the World Trade Organization (WTO), bilateral integration, and regional integration. In bilateral integration, only two countries economically cooperate with one another, whereas in regional integration, several countries within the same geographic distance become joint to form organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Indeed, factors of mobility like capital, technology and labour are indicating strategies for cross-national integration along with those mentioned above.
Regional human rights regimes are relatively independently coherent human rights sub-regimes that are nested within the larger frame work of International human rights practice. Three principal regional human rights instruments can be identified, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Gross domestic product, current prices; U.S. dollars, Billions;
2007=16,927.173
2008=18,394.115
2009=15,342.908 [projection]
Gross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) valuation of country GDP; Current international dollar, Billions;
2007=14,762.109
2008=15,247.163
2009=14,774.525 [projection]
GDP based on PPP share of world total
2007=22.605%
2008=22.131% 2009=21.609% [projection]
World "GDP", current prices; U.S. dollars, Billions;
2007=54,840.873
2008=60,689.812
2009=54,863.551 [projection]
These data were published in 2009. Data for 2009 are projections based on a number of assumptions.