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52-711: The Poti seaport is a cross point of the Trans-Caucasian Corridor/ TRACECA , a multinational project which connects the Romanian port of Constanţa and Bulgarian port Varna with the landlocked countries of the Caspian region and Central Asia . The construction of a seaport at Poti was conceived shortly after 1828, when the Russian Empire conquered the town from the Ottoman Empire which controlled it since

104-628: A Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) in a 49-year management concession. The new FIZ was officially inaugurated by the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili on 15 April 2008. In 2009, RAKIA UAE acquired the remaining 49 percent stake of the port. However, following the Dubai debt crisis of November 2009, Sheikh Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr decided to sell off most assets held abroad in October 2010. This focus on domestic priorities

156-453: A union of states does not "emphasise sovereignty or the separation of domestic and foreign affairs [and it] has become a highly developed system for mutual interference in each other's domestic affairs, right down to beer and sausages.". However, on defence and foreign policy issues (and, pre- Lisbon Treaty , police and judicial matters) less sovereignty is transferred, with issues being dealt with by unanimity and co-operation. Very early on in

208-571: A candidate to have a democratic government and free-market economy together with the corresponding freedoms and institutions, and respect for the rule of law . Enlargement of the Union is also contingent upon the consent of all existing members and the candidate's adoption of the existing body of EU law, known as the acquis communautaire . The United Kingdom , which had acceded to the EU's predecessor in 1973, ceased to be an EU member state on 31 January 2020, in

260-449: A formalisation of the situation. EU integration is not always symmetrical, with some states proceeding with integration ahead of hold-outs. There are several different forms of closer integration both within and outside the EU's normal framework. One mechanism is enhanced cooperation where nine or more states can use EU structures to progress in a field that not all states are willing to partake in. Some states have gained an opt-out in

312-587: A greater or lesser extent. If an aspect is not listed in the table below, then it remains the exclusive competence of the member state. Perhaps the best known example is taxation, which remains a matter of state sovereignty. As a result of the European sovereign debt crisis , some eurozone states were given a bailout from their fellow members via the European Financial Stability Facility and European Financial Stability Mechanism (replaced by

364-522: A member state to leave the bloc. The procedure for a state to leave is outlined in TEU Article 50 which also makes clear that "Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Although it calls for a negotiated withdrawal between the seceding state and the rest of the EU, if no agreement is reached two years after the seceding state notifying of its intention to leave, it would cease to be subject to

416-648: A minority partner in the FIZ. Mikadze owns these shares through the UK based Manline Projects LLP company, which is owned by offshore companies belonging to Mikadze. TRACECA TRACECA ( acronym : Tra nsport C orridor E urope- C aucasus- A sia) is an international transport programme involving the European Union and 12 member states of the Eastern European, Caucasus, and Central Asian region. The programme aim

468-401: A monarch although political powers are exercised by elected politicians. Most republics and all the monarchies operate a parliamentary system whereby the head of state (president or monarch) has a largely ceremonial role with reserve powers . That means most power is in the hands of what is called in most of those countries the prime minister, who is accountable to the national parliament . Of

520-453: A new country applying from scratch. However, other studies claim internal enlargement is legally viable if, in case of a member state dissolution or secession, the resulting states are all considered successor states . There is also a European Citizens' Initiative that aims at guaranteeing the continuity of rights and obligations of the European citizens belonging to a new state arising from

572-542: A political process known as Brexit . No other member state has withdrawn from the EU and none has been suspended, although some dependent territories or semi-autonomous areas have left . There are a number of overseas member state territories which are legally part of the EU, but have certain exemptions based on their remoteness; see Overseas Countries and Territories Association . These "outermost regions" have partial application of EU law and in some cases are outside of Schengen or

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624-462: A template for the pro-EU regions of the UK remaining within the EU or its single market. Beyond the formal withdrawal of a member state, there are a number of independence movements such as Catalonia or Flanders which could result in a similar situation to Greenland. Were a territory of a member state to secede but wish to remain in the EU, some scholars claim it would need to reapply to join as if it were

676-476: Is open to any European country that is a stable, free-market liberal democracy that respects the rule of law and human rights. Furthermore, it has to be willing to accept all the obligations of membership, such as adopting all previously agreed law (the 170,000 pages of acquis communautaire ) and switching to the euro . For a state to join the European Union, the prior approval of all current member states

728-503: Is required. In addition to enlargement by adding new countries, the EU can also expand by having territories of member states, which are outside the EU, integrate more closely (for example in respect to the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles ) or by a territory of a member state which had previously seceded and then rejoined (see withdrawal below). There is no provision to expel a member state, but TEU Article 7 provides for

780-627: Is superior to State law is subject to some debate. The treaties do not give a judgement on the matter but court judgements have established EU's law superiority over national law and it is affirmed in a declaration attached to the Treaty of Lisbon (the proposed European Constitution would have fully enshrined this). The legal systems of some states also explicitly accept the Court of Justice's interpretation, such as France and Italy, however in Poland it does not override

832-521: Is taken against it as outlined above. However, the treaties do not provide any mechanism to expel a member state outright. Prior to the Lisbon Treaty , there was no provision or procedure within any of the Treaties of the European Union for a member state to withdraw from the European Union or its predecessor organisations. The Lisbon Treaty changed this and included the first provision and procedure of

884-718: Is to strengthen economic relations, trade, and transport in the regions of the Black Sea basin, South Caucasus , and Central Asia. It has a permanent Secretariat, originally financed by the European Commission , in Baku , Azerbaijan, and a regional office in Odesa , Ukraine. Since 2009, the organization has been entirely financed by member countries. TRACECA was established in May 1993 in Brussels , upon

936-710: The Baku Initiative of 2004, followed by a further ministerial conference in Sofia , Bulgaria, in 2006. The following states currently participate in the TRACECA program: Plus the 27 member states of the Iran officially joined TRACECA in 2009 after their request was accepted during a meeting held in Brussels. However, technical assistance related to the project has not been provided to Iran since 2010 due to EU sanctions. In 1996, Mongolia

988-462: The Council for the union to adopt some policies; for others, collective decisions are made by qualified majority voting . These obligations and sharing of sovereignty within the EU (sometimes referred to as supranational ) make it unique among international organisations, as it has established its own legal order which by the provisions of the founding treaties is both legally binding and supreme on all

1040-517: The European Stability Mechanism from 2013), but this came with conditions. As a result of the Greek government-debt crisis , Greece accepted a large austerity plan including privatisations and a sell off of state assets in exchange for their bailout. To ensure that Greece complied with the conditions set by the European troika (ECB, IMF, Commission), a 'large-scale technical assistance' from

1092-472: The National Council of Slovenia . All elections in member states use some form of proportional representation . The most common type of proportional representation is the party-list system . There are also differences in the level of self-governance for the sub-regions of a member state. Most states, especially the smaller ones, are unitary states ; meaning all major political power is concentrated at

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1144-486: The state's constitution , which it does in Germany. The exact areas where the member states have given legislative competence to the Union are as follows. Every area not mentioned remains with member states. In EU terminology, the term 'competence' means 'authority or responsibility to act'. The table below shows which aspects of governance are exclusively for collective action (through the commission) and which are shared to

1196-503: The EU VAT area—however they are legally within the EU. They all use the euro as their currency. Abbreviations have been used as a shorthand way of grouping countries by their date of accession. Additionally, other abbreviations have been used to refer to countries which had limited access to the EU labour market . According to the Copenhagen criteria , membership of the European Union

1248-614: The European Commission and other member states was deployed to Greek government ministries. Some, including the President of the Euro Group Jean-Claude Juncker , stated that "the sovereignty of Greece will be massively limited." The situation of the bailed out countries (Greece, Portugal and Ireland) has been described as being a ward or protectorate of the EU with some such as the Netherlands calling for

1300-595: The European Parliament; prospective justices must be confirmed by the existing members. Historically, larger member states were granted an extra Commissioner. However, as the body grew, this right has been removed and each state is represented equally. The six largest states are also granted an Advocates General in the Court of Justice. Finally, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank includes

1352-489: The European Union The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are party to the EU's founding treaties , and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. They have agreed by the treaties to share their own sovereignty through the institutions of the European Union in certain aspects of government. State governments must agree unanimously in

1404-567: The Intergovernmental Commission in January 2015. TRACECA has five working groups: maritime transport, aviation, road and rail, transport security, and transport infrastructure. Amongst its specific projects, was the creation of a new bridge to replace and protect the heritage Red Bridge , located between Georgia and Azerbaijan. In July 2023, it was announced for TRACECA to join the eTIR international system. Member state of

1456-569: The States to Community, the Member States have limited their sovereign rights and have thus created a body of law which binds both their nationals and themselves...The transfer by the States from their domestic legal system to the Community legal system of the rights and obligations arising under the Treaty carries with it a permanent limitation of their sovereign rights. The question of whether Union law

1508-404: The UK eventually withdrew from the EU on 31 January 2020. Prior to 2016, no member state had voted to withdraw. However, French Algeria , Greenland and Saint-Barthélemy did cease being part of the EU (or its predecessor) in 1962, 1985, and 2012, respectively, due to status changes. The situation of Greenland being outside the EU while still subject to an EU member state had been discussed as

1560-403: The democratic secession of a European Union member state. Each state has representation in the institutions of the European Union . Full membership gives the government of a member state a seat in the Council of the European Union and European Council . When decisions are not being taken by consensus , qualified majority voting (which requires majorities both of the number of states and of

1612-516: The directly elected lower house and require its support to stay in office—the exception being Cyprus with its presidential system. Upper houses are composed differently in different member states: it can be directly elected like the Polish senate ; indirectly elected, for example, by regional legislatures like the Federal Council of Austria ; or unelected, but representing certain interest groups like

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1664-555: The founding treaties from participating in certain policy areas. The admission of a new state the Union is limited to liberal democracies and Freedom House ranks all EU states as being totally free electoral democracies. All but 4 are ranked at the top 1.0 rating. However, the exact political system of a state is not limited, with each state having its own system based on its historical evolution. More than half of member states—16 out of 27—are parliamentary republics , while six states are constitutional monarchies , meaning they have

1716-506: The fractioning of the Kingdom of Georgia . In 1858, Poti was granted the status of a port city , but it was not until 1899 when, under the patronage of the mayor of Poti Niko Nikoladze , the construction entered the sprint stages and was completed by 1907. The seaport has since reconstructed several times, most recently under the sponsorship of the Dutch government and the European Union . In 2007,

1768-428: The governors of the national central banks (who may or may not be government appointed) of each euro area country. The larger states traditionally carry more weight in negotiations, however smaller states can be effective impartial mediators and citizens of smaller states are often appointed to sensitive top posts to avoid competition between the larger states. This, together with the disproportionate representation of

1820-415: The history of the EU, the unique state of its establishment and pooling of sovereignty was emphasised by the Court of Justice: By creating a Community of unlimited duration, having its own institutions, its own personality, its own legal capacity and capacity of representation on the international plane and, more particularly, real powers stemming from a limitation of sovereignty or a transfer of powers from

1872-417: The institutions in return for representation within those institutions. This practice is often referred to as 'pooling of sovereignty'. Those institutions are then empowered to make laws and execute them at a European level. If a state fails to comply with the law of the European Union , it may be fined or have funds withdrawn. In contrast to some international organisations, the EU's style of integration as

1924-409: The interests of all the member states within the EU. In the 1950s, six core states founded the EU's predecessor European Communities ( Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg , the Netherlands , and West Germany ). The remaining states have acceded in subsequent enlargements . To accede, a state must fulfil the economic and political requirements known as the Copenhagen criteria , which require

1976-640: The larger ones). The members of the European Parliament have been elected by universal suffrage since 1979 (before that, they were seconded from national parliaments ). The national governments appoint one member each to the European Commission , the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Auditors . Prospective Commissioners must be confirmed both by the President of the Commission and by

2028-449: The member states (after a landmark ruling of the ECJ in 1964 ). A founding principle of the union is subsidiarity , meaning that decisions are taken collectively if and only if they cannot realistically be taken individually. Each member country appoints to the European Commission a European commissioner . The commissioners do not represent their member state, but instead work collectively in

2080-477: The member states are sovereign, the union partially follows a supranational system for those functions agreed by treaty to be shared. ("Competences not conferred upon the Union in the Treaties remain with the member states"). Previously limited to European Community matters, the practice, known as the ' community method ', is currently used in many areas of policy. Combined sovereignty is delegated by each member to

2132-463: The national level. 9 states allocate power to more local levels of government. Austria, Belgium and Germany are full federations, meaning their regions have constitutional autonomies. Denmark, Finland, France and the Netherlands are federacies , meaning some regions have autonomy but most do not. Spain and Italy have systems of devolution where regions have autonomy, but the national government retains

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2184-508: The population they represent, but a sufficient blocking minority can veto the proposal). The Presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates among each of the member states, allowing each state six months to help direct the agenda of the EU. Similarly, each state is assigned seats in Parliament according to their population (smaller countries receiving more seats per inhabitant than

2236-450: The remaining republics, four operate a semi-presidential system , where competences are shared between the president and prime minister, while one republic operates a presidential system , where the president is head of both state and government. Parliamentary structure in member states varies: there are 15 unicameral national parliaments and 12 bicameral parliaments. The prime minister and government are usually directly accountable to

2288-506: The signing of a Multilateral Agreement on International Transport for the development of transport initiatives (including the establishment and development of a road corridor) between the EU member states , Eastern European , Caucasus and Central Asian countries. The programme supports the political and economic independence of former Soviet Union republics through enhancing their access to European and global markets through road, rail and sea. The objectives of TRACECA were underlined by

2340-431: The smaller states in terms of votes and seats in parliament, gives the smaller EU states a greater power of influence than is normally attributed to a state of their size. However most negotiations are still dominated by the larger states. This has traditionally been largely through the " Franco-German motor" but Franco-German influence has diminished slightly following the influx of new members in 2004 (see G6 ). While

2392-405: The state concerned), but sanctions require only a qualified majority. The state in question would still be bound by the obligations treaties and the Council acting by majority may alter or lift such sanctions. The Treaty of Nice included a preventive mechanism whereby the council, acting by majority, may identify a potential breach and make recommendations to the state to rectify it before action

2444-506: The suspension of certain rights. Introduced in the Treaty of Amsterdam , Article 7 outlines that if a member persistently breaches the EU's founding principles (liberty, democracy, human rights and so forth, outlined in TEU Article 2 ) then the European Council can vote to suspend any rights of membership, such as voting and representation. Identifying the breach requires unanimity (excluding

2496-465: The then President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev , together with Javier Solana , Christopher Patten , Anna Lind . The Secretary-General is a chief executive officer of the Permanent Secretariat. The first Secretary-General elected by the Intergovernmental Commission was a representative of Georgia, ambassador Zviad Kvachantiradze . The current Secretary-General is Mircea Ciopraga, appointed by

2548-646: The total throughput was 7.7 million tons and container handling was 185,000 TEU . In April 2008, Georgia sold a 51 percent stake of the Poti port area to the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority ( RAKIA ), a company owned by the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah , a member of the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ). RAKIA was tasked with managing the new port terminal and, through its Georgian subsidiary RAKIA Georgia Free Industrial Zone LLC , with developing

2600-530: The treaties anyway (thus ensuring a right to unilateral withdrawal). There is no formal limit to how much time a member state can take between adopting a policy of withdrawal, and actually triggering Article 50. In a referendum in June 2016 , the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU. The UK government triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. After an extended period of negotiation and internal political debate

2652-555: Was granted observer status. In 2009, Lithuania was granted observer status. In July 2016, Greece announced they are considering joining TRACECA activities as an observer. In March 2018, Greece was granted observer status during a meeting held in Yerevan . The Permanent Secretariat of TRACECA was established in March 2000 in Baku, and inaugurated on February 21, 2001, with the participation of

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2704-667: Was prompted by the disputed succession in Ras Al Khaimah following the death of Saud's father, Sheikh Saqr Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi , and the need for Saud Bin Saqr to provide for his subjects. Subsequently, 80 percent of the port was sold in April 2011 to APM Terminals , a unit of Denmark 's A.P. Moller-Maersk . On 8 September 2011, RAKIA Georgia FIZ decided to alienate 15 percent of its shares in favor of Georgian businessman Gela ("Zaza") Mikadze in recognition of his management, making him

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