The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern        

                                      Ireland

Population: 60,270,708

Area: 242,514 sq km

Government type: Constitutional Monarchy

Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II

Prime minister: Anthony (Tony) Blair

Constitution: Unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law/practice

Legislative branch: Bicameral Parliament comprised of

                                  House of Lords (no election)

                                  House of Commons (members are elected by

                                   popular vote to serve five-year term)

Executive branch: Head of state- Queen Elizabeth II

                                Head of government- Prime Minister Tony Blair

                                Cabinet of Ministers- apointed by the PM

Judicial branch: -House of Lords (highest court of appeal)

                             -Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern 

                               Ireland

                             -Scotland’s Court of Session and Court of the

                               Judiciary

Major Political parties: Conservative and Unionist Party (Michael

                                         Howard)

                                         Labor Party (Tony Blair)

International   Major player in international affairs

Organisation   Fulfils an important role in the EU, UN, NATO

Participation

A chronology of key events:

1945: The UK becomes a permanent member of the UN Security

          Council

1949: The UK becomes a founder member of NATO

1961: Uk application to join European Economic Community

          - vetoed by French President Charles de Gaulle

1967: Further application to join EEC

-         again rejected by De Gaulle

1973: The UK joins the European Economic Community

1991: UK takes part in US-led military campaign to liberate Kuwait

          from Iraqi occupation.

1994: John Smith dies. Tony Blair becomes Labour leader

1998: Good Friday Agreement on a political settlement for Northern

          Ireland is approved by voters in the Republic of Ireland and in

          Northern Ireland. (brought lasting peace after decades of

          Violent conflict)

1999: UK forces take part in the air war with Yugoslavia and the

          consequent multinational force in Kosovo.

2001: Blair re-elected

2001: Following September 11 attacks on targets in the US, PM Tony

          Blair offers strong support for US-led campaign against

          international terrorism

2003: UK joins US-led military campaign against Iraq after UN-based

          diplomatic efforts to ensure Baghdad has no weapons of mass

          destruction are perceived to have failed

2004: Tony Blair, the first British PM to visit Turkey in 14 years, met

          President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep

          Tayyip Erdogan, to express support for Ankara’s drive to join in

          the European Union, discuss developments in Iraq, and bilateral

          cooperation against terrorism

ECONOMY

-         The United Kingdom is the world’s fourth largest economy

-         The UK has a service oriented economy

-         Largest producers and exporters of natural gas in the EU

-         UK’s largest trading partners are the US and the EU

Euro: - the central issue that UK is grappling with is whether or not to

             Join the Euro

      - the country has not yet adopted the euro currency and the

        debate continues

      - critics point out that the economy is doing well outside of

        EMU, and they point to public opinion polls that continue to

        show a majority of Britons opposed to the euro 

UK in the European Union

- As a member of the EU, the UK is bound by the various types of

European Community (EC) legislation and wider policies that are

based on a series of treaties since the 1950’s.

- The Community enacts legislation that is binding on the national

   governments of the 25 Member States.

- UK government ministers take part in the discussions and

decision-making.

- The final decision is taken collectively by all the Member States.

- The UK Representative Office (UKREP), based in Brussels,

   conducts most of the negotiations on behalf of the UK government.

- Where decisions are taken by qualified majority voting the number

   votes UK can cast is 29.

Step Change Initiative

- The Prime Minister called in 1998 for a stepping up of the UK’s

   relations with the rest of Europe. He wanted the UK to form

   stronger links with the EU and applicant countries in order to

   emphasize Britain’s place within the EU. This initiative became

   known as the Step Change.

- The aims of the Step Change are:

    * to maximise British influence in Europe

    * to build alliances to promote British interests

    * to highlight the UK’s new and positive approach towards

        Europe

    * to influence the decisions taken in EU

Blair’s view on Turkey’s accession in EU

- When asked whether Turkey could obtain a date in December to

   begin negotiations with the EU, Blair said:

   “Yes, if Turkey maintains the extraordinary speed of its reform

     programme, to meet the Union’s political criteria”

   “My conviction is that Turkey’s accession will be a good thing for

     us all. I sincerely hope that there will be a positive decision for

     Turkey in December”, he told Hurriet.

- Tony Blair is “profoundly and absolutely commited to

  determining a start date for the negotiations in December”

- Britain has argued tirelessly that Turkey can help bridge

  differences between Europe and the Muslim world and aid in the

  fight against terrorism.

- Britain and other supporters of Ankara’s candidacy say Turkey

  should be admitted precisely because as a Muslim though secular

  democracy it can show the EU is open to other cultures and also

  serve as a role model for the Middle East.