An Introduction to European Intergovernmental Organizations

An Introduction to European Intergovernmental Organizations provides an up-to-date and accessible reference to European intergovernmental organizations other than the European Union. The EU is so dominant that people often overlook the multitude of older and newer, smaller and larger intergovernmental organizations rooted in the history of contemporary Europe which continue to help shape its future. The specialized character of these organizations adds value to cooperation in Europe as a whole, creates permanent channels of communication regardless of EU membership and allows the possibility for non-European involvement through organizations such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and NATO. It also allows sub regional groups of states, such as the Nordic countries or the Benelux countries to exist and express their own identity via their own organizations. This book looks at the history of Non-EU organizations, their decision-making characteristics, membership policies, legal powers actions and interactions with each other and the European Union. A uniform scheme of analysis is used to make European intergovernmental organizations comparable and by studying them we gain a deeper understanding and insight into European affairs.

Contents: Introduction. Part I Economic and Financial Sectors: The Benelux Union; The European Free Trade Association (EFTA); European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol); European Patent Organization (EPO); European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD); Nordic Investment Bank (NIB); Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO); Nordic Development Fund (NDF); Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB); Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC); Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB); The Energy Charter Conference (ECC); Energy Community (EC). Part II Political and Security Sectors: Council of Europe; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Nordic cooperation: the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers; Baltic cooperation: the Baltic Assembly, the Baltic Council of Ministers and the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Part III Science: European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN); European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT); The European Southern Observatory (ESO); European Space Agency (ESA). Part IV River Commissions and Environmental Organizations: Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR); Danube Commission (DC); International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC); Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution (BSC); International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR); European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). Bibliography; Index.