i 200, B-1049 Bruxelles,
telephone-[32] (2) 199 11 11 proposed-7 February 1992
aim-to promote a single market by creating a single currency, the
euro; time table-2 May 1998: European exchange rates are likely to be
fixed for 1 January 1999; 1 January 1999: all banks and stock
exchanges begin using euros; 1 January 2002: the euro goes into
circulation; 1 July 2002 local currencies no longer accepted
members-(0) likely to be included in the first wave of members:
Austria, Beligum, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain;
note-Denmark, Sweden, and UK decided not to join, and Greece did not
meet all the criteria to take part
_________________________________________________________________

European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
note-acronym retained from the predecessor organization Conseil
Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire
address-CH-1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
telephone-[41] (22) 767 61 11
FAX-[41] (22) 767 65 55
established-1 July 1953
effective-29 September 1954
aim-to foster nuclear research for peaceful purposes only
members-(19) Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
observers-(7) EU, Israel, Japan, Russia, Turkey, United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
Yugoslavia (suspended)
_________________________________________________________________

European Space Agency (ESA)
address-8-10 rue Mario Nikis, F-75738 Paris CEDEX 15, France
telephone-[33] (1) 53 69 76 54
FAX-[33] (1) 53 69 75 60
established-31 July 1973
effective-1 May 1975
aim-to promote peaceful cooperation in space research and technology
members-(14) Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK
cooperating state-(1) Canada
_________________________________________________________________

European Union (EU)
note-evolved from the European Community (EC)
address-c/o European Commission, Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Brussels,
Belgium
telephone-[32] (2) 299 11 11
FAX-[32] (2) 295 01 38 through 295 01 40
established-7 February 1992
effective-1 November 1993
aim-to coordinate policy among the 15 members in three fields:
economics, building on the European Economic Community's (EEC) efforts
to establish a common market and eventually a common cur