eece, 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), US
_________________________________________________________________

European Space Agency (ESA)
address - ESA Headquarters, 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 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 currency to be
called the 'euro', which will supersede 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)
address - Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, I-00100 Rome, Italy
telephone - [39] (6) 57051
FAX - [39] (6) 5705 3152
established - 16 October 1945
aim - to raise living standards and increase availability of
agricultural products, as a UN specialized agency
members - (176) Afghanistan