** European Space Agency (ESA) **

established - 31 May 1975

aim - to promote peaceful cooperation in space research and technology

members - (15) Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
UK

cooperating state - (1) Canada

** European Union (EU) **

note - evolved from the European Community (EC)

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 currency to be
called the 'euro', which superseded the EU's accounting unit, the ECU;
defense, within the concept of a Common Foreign and Security Policy
(CFSP); and justice and home affairs, including immigration, drugs,
terrorism, and improved living and working conditions

members - (15) Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, UK

membership applicants - (13) Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Turkey

** First World **

another term for countries with advanced, industrialized economies;
this term is fading from use; see developed countries (DCs)

** Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) **

established - 16 October 1945

aim - to raise living standards and increase availability of agricultural
products, as a UN specialized agency

members - (184) Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma,
Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic,
Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia,
Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea,
Estonia, Ethiopia, EC, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia,
Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana,
Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland,
Isra