Page 402 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

nuclear weapons, especially to terrorists.

Current focus on Iran

The IAEA is currently focused on Iran over its nuclear programme which
Iran insists is designed to meet domestic energy needs. Iran has been accused
by the West of using its nuclear programme to produce nuclear weapons. The

world community is also concerned over the nuclear weapons programme of
North Korea and the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of
terrorist organisations.

EUROPEAN UNION

It is a union of 27 democratic European nations, committed to working
together for peace and prosperity. The member states of the EU have set
common institutions to which they delegate some of their sovereignty so that
decisions on specific matters of joint interest can be made democratically at

the European level. The tasks handled by the EU include matters related to
trade, economy, citizens’ rights, security, regional development and

environment protection. The idea of European integration was first proposed
by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schulman on 9 May 1950. This day is
celebrated annually as Europe Day. France, Germany, Italy, Belgium,

Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, Britain, Greece, Portugal,
Spain, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland,
Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus are the

original members. Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007.
Turkey, Croatia, Macedonia, Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and
Herzegovina are also negotiating for membership of the EU. However, they

have to fulfil certain criteria before they are eligible for EU membership.

Five Key EU Institutions

EU Parliament: Elected directly by the citizens of the member states.

Council of EU: Representing the governments of member states.