Republic of Ireland

http://www.all-laptopfan.com/,http://www.all-keyboard.com/ Ireland (ⁱ/ˈaɪərlənd/; RP: [ˈʌɪələnd]; Irish: Éire [ˈeːɾʲə] ; Ulster-Scots: Airlann or Airlan) is an island to the north-west of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth.^[5]To its east is the island of Great Britain, from which it is separated by the Irish Sea. SONY Vaio VGN-SZ2XP/C CPU Fan Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remaining area and is located in the north-east of the island. The population of Ireland is approximately 6.4 million. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.^[6] DELL Latitude E4300 CPU Fan The island's geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild but changeable oceanic climate, which avoids extremes in temperature. Thick woodlands covered the island until medieval times. As of 2013, the amount of land that is forested in Ireland is about 11% of the total land area, compared with European average of 35%.^[7][8] HP Pavilion dv7-2025es CPU Fan There are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. Gaelic Ireland emerged some time in prehistory and lasted until the early 17th century. The island was converted to Christianity from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland.FUJITSU LifeBook A6030 CPU Fan However, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest. This led to the colonization of northern Ireland by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. In 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. SONY Vaio VGN-FS115Z CPU Fan A war of independence in the early 20th century was followed by the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades, and Northern Ireland which remained a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973, both parts of Ireland joined the European Economic Community. HP 532617-001 CPU Fan Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature and, to a lesser degree, science and education. Alongside mainstream Western culture, a strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed for example through Gaelic games, Irish music, and the Irish language. The culture of the island has also many features shared with Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racingand golf. ACER Aspire 5730Z CPU Fan Most of Ireland was covered with ice until the end of the last ice age over 9,000 years ago. Sea levels were lower and Ireland, like Great Britain, was part of continental Europe. Mesolithic stone age inhabitants arrived from Britain some time around 7,000 BC and agriculture followed with the Neolithic Age around 3,000 BC.^[9] HP G56-126NR CPU Fan At the Céide Fields, preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day County Mayo, is an extensive field system, arguably the oldest in the world,^[10] dating from not long after this period. Consisting of small divisions separated bydry-stone walls, the fields were farmed for several centuries between 3,500 and 3,000 BC. Wheat and barley were the principal crops imported from the Iberian Peninsula. HP Pavilion dv7-6166nr CPU Fan The Bronze Age – defined by the use of metal – began around 2,500 BC, with technology changing people's everyday lives during this period through innovations such as the wheel, harnessing oxen, weaving textiles, brewing alcohol, and skillful metalworking, which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such asbrooches and torcs. FUJITSU Lifebook A3210 CPU Fan According to John T. Koch and others, Ireland in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included Britain, France, Spain and Portugal whereCeltic languages developed, but this view stands against the more generally accepted view among 'Celticists' that their origin lies in Continental Europe with the Hallstatt culture. DELL Precision M6400 CPU Fan The Iron Age in Ireland is traditionally associated with people known as the Celts. The Celts were commonly thought to have colonised Ireland in a series of invasions. The first Celtic-speaking tribes are believed to have arrived on the island about 600 BC in what is referred to as the Hallstatt era. Other colonists followed them, the main thrust arriving in the later La Tene era some time between the third and first centuries BC. Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX CPU Fan They came from neighbouring Britain, Gaul andIberia: tribes from two main stems of the Continental Celts—the Belgae originating in northern Gaul and the Gael from southern Gaul and the northern seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula. Historically four separate Celtic incursions into are deemed to have occurred in Ireland, HP Pavilion dv2660se CPU Fan The Priteni were the first to colonize the island, followed by the Belgae who invaded Ireland from northern Gaul and Britain. Later, Laighin tribes from Armorica (present-day Brittany) are believed to have invaded Ireland and Britain more or less simultaneously. Lastly, the Milesians (Gaels) reached Ireland from either northern Iberia or southern Gaul. Toshiba Satellite L500-1XC CPU Fan The Priteni tribes (Ireland and Britain were known to the early Greeks as the Pritenic Islands) are believed to have arrived a little after 700 BC. Their origin as Celts is questionable; according to some sources they were more likely to have been the descendants of the earlier Neolithic indigenous inhabitants of the island. Probably, they were a mixture of both. DELL GM0503PEB1-8 (L2.M) CPU Fan The second wave, the Euerni,belonging to the Belgae people of northern Gaul, began arriving about the sixth century BC. They called their new home Eueriio, which would later evolve through the old Irish Eriu to Eire to Ireland. The third wave of colonization is believed to have taken place some time about 300 BC. They were the Laginians or, according to their own tradition, Gauls who came to Ireland from Armorica. HP Pavilion dv7-1098eo CPU Fan Their name association with Laighi, the ancient name for Leinster, suggests that this was where they first settled. Another branch of the same people was the Galioin (or Gailenga) who settled in an area north of Dublin and Meath. The last major Celtic settlement in Ireland is believed to have taken place some time between 150–50 BC. Toshiba Satellite A205-S5804 CPU Fan These people have been identified as the Milesians (Sons of Mil, or Gaels) who, according to tradition, fled Roman incursions into northern Iberia and southern Gaul. These were Iron Age Celts and their dominance over the island was to last well over a thousand years.^[16] The Gaels, the last wave of Celts, were said to have divided the island into five or more kingdoms after conquering it. HP Pavilion dv7-1240us CPU Fan However, most academics favour a theory that emphasises the diffusion of culture from the neolithic to bronze age overseas as opposed to a military colonisation.^[17] Finds such as Clonycavan Man are given as evidence for this theory. The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco-Roman geographers. Ptolemy in his Almagest refers to Ireland as Mikra Brettania (Little Britain), in contrast to the larger island, which he called Megale Brettania (Great Britain).^[19]  DELL yy529 CPU Fan In his later work, Geography, Ptolemy refers to Ireland asIouernia and to Great Britain as Albion. These "new" names were likely to have been the Celtic names for the islands at the time. The earlier names, in contrast, were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made.^[20] The Romans would later refer to Ireland by this name too in its Latinised form, Hibernia,^[21] or Scotia.^[22] Toshiba Qosmio G40-10E CPU Fan Ptolemy records sixteen nations inhabiting every part of Ireland in 100 AD.^[23] The relationship between the Roman Empire and the tribes of ancient Ireland is unclear. However, a number of finds of Roman coins have been made, for example at Newgrange.^[24] Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival tribes but, beginning in the 7th century AD, SONY Vaio VGN-CR407E CPU Fan a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland. Medieval Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings stretching back thousands of years but modern historians believe the scheme was constructed in the 8th century to justify the status of powerful political groupings by projecting the origins of their rule into the remote past.^[25] HP Pavilion dv6-1101au CPU Fan The High King was said to preside over the patchwork of provincial kingdoms that together formed Ireland. All of these kingdoms had their own kings but were at least nominally subject to the High King. The High King was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath, with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara. HP Pavilion dv7-3190ev CPU Fan The concept only became a political reality in the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one.^[26] However, Ireland did have a unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws, administered by a professional class of jurists known as thebrehons.^[27] The Chronicle of Ireland records that in 431 AD Bishop Palladius arrived in Ireland on a mission from Pope Celestine I to minister to the Irish "already believing in Christ."^[28HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan ^] The same chronicle records that Saint Patrick, Ireland's best known patron saint, arrived the following year. There is continued debate over the missions of Palladius and Patrick but the consensus is that they both took place^[29] and that the older druid tradition collapsed in the face of the new religion.^[30] Irish Christian scholars excelled in the study of Latin and Greek learning and Christian theology. HP COMPAQ NX9420 CPU Fan In the monastic culture that followed the Christianisation of Ireland, Latin and Greek learning was preserved in Ireland during the Early Middle Ages in contrast to elsewhere in Europe, where the Dark Ages followed the decline of the Roman Empire.^[30][31] The arts of manuscript illumination, metalworking and sculpture flourished and produced treasures such as the Book of Kells, HP Mini 110-1110ET CPU Fan ornate jewellery and the many carved stone crosses^[32] that still dot the island today. A mission founded in 563 on Iona by the Irish monk Saint Columba began a tradition of Irish missionarywork that spread Christianity and learning to Scotland, England and the Frankish Empire on Continental Europe after the fall of Rome.^[33] HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan These missions continued until the late Middle Ages, establishing monasteries and centres of learning, producing scholars such as Sedulius Scottus and Johannes Eriugena and exerting much influence in Europe. From the 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered Irish monasteries and towns.^[34] These raids added to a pattern of raiding and endemic warfare that was already deep-seated in Ireland. HP Pavilion dv6-3163eo CPU Fan The Vikings also were involved in establishing most of the major coastal settlements in Ireland: Dublin, Limerick, Cork,Wexford, Waterford, and also Carlingford, Strangford, Annagassan, Arklow, Youghal, Lough Foyle and Lough Ree. On 1 May 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights with an army of about six hundred landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford. HP Pavilion dv9740us CPU Fan It was led by Richard de Clare, called Strongbow due to his prowess as an archer.^[36] The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough, the king of Leinster.^[37] In 1166, Mac Murrough had fled to Anjou, France, following a war involving Tighearnán Ua Ruairc, of Breifne, and sought the assistance of the Angevin king, Henry II, in recapturing his kingdom. ACER Aspire 4743 CPU Fan In 1171, Henry arrived in Ireland in order to review the general progress of the expedition. He wanted to re-exert royal authority over the invasion which was expanding beyond his control. Henry successfully re-imposed his authority over Strongbow and the Cambro-Norman warlords and persuaded many of the Irish kings to accept him as their overlord, an arrangement confirmed in the 1175 Treaty of Windsor. HP Pavilion dv6-2170us CPU Fan The invasion was legitimised by the provisions of the Papal Bull Laudabiliter, issued by Adrian IV in 1155. The bull encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganisation of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system.^[38] Some restructuring had already begun at the ecclesiastical level following the Synod of Kells in 1152.^[39] Toshiba Satellite L675-S7018 CPU Fan There has been significant controversy regarding authenticity of Laudabiliter,^[40]and there is no general agreement as to whether the bull was genuine or a forgery.^[41][42] In 1172, the new pope, Alexander III, further encouraged Henry to advance the integration of the Irish Church with Rome. Henry was authorised to impose a titheof one penny per hearth as an annual contribution. ASUS F80Q CPU Fan This church levy, called Peter's Pence, is still extant in Ireland as a voluntary donation. In turn, Henry accepted the title of Lord of Ireland which Henry conferred on his younger son, John Lackland, in 1185. This defined the Irish state as the Lordship of Ireland. When Henry's successor died unexpectedly in 1199, John inherited the crown of England and retained the Lordship of Ireland. ACER TravelMate 4200 CPU Fan Over the century that followed, Norman feudal law gradually replaced the Gaelic Brehon Law so that by the late 13th century the Norman-Irish had established a feudal system throughout much of Ireland. Norman settlements were characterised by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and the seeds of the modern county system. HP 434678-001 CPU Fan A version of the Magna Carta (the Great Charter of Ireland), substituting Dublin for London and Irish Church for Church of England, was published in 1216 and theParliament of Ireland was founded in 1297. From the mid-14th century, after the Black Death, Norman settlements in Ireland went into a period of decline. The Norman rulers and the Gaelic Irish elites intermarried and the areas under Norman rule became Gaelicised. HP G70-120EA CPU Fan In some parts, a hybrid Hiberno-Norman culture emerged. In response, the Irish parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367. These were a set of laws designed to prevent the assimilation of the Normans into Irish society by requiring English subjects in Ireland to speak English, follow English customs and abide by English law.^[43] Toshiba Satellite A300-034 CPU Fan By the end of the 15th century central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences, was dominant again. English Crown control remained relatively unshaken in an amorphous foothold around Dublin known as The Pale and under the provisions of Poynings' Law of 1494, the Irish Parliamentary legislation was subject to the approval of the English Parliament. HP 606609-001 CPU Fan The title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII, then King of England, of the Tudor dynasty. English rule of law was reinforced and expanded in Ireland during the latter part of the 16th century, leading to the Tudor conquest of Ireland. A near complete conquest was achieved by the turn of the 17th century, following the Nine Years' War and the Flight of the Earls.Compaq Presario CQ60-301sl CPU Fan This control was further consolidated during the wars and conflicts of the 17th century, which witnessed English and Scottish colonisation in the Plantations of Ireland, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War. Irish losses during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (which, in Ireland, included the Irish Confederacy and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland) are estimated to include 20,000 battlefield casualties. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 CPU Fan 200,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a result of a combination of war-related famine, displacement, guerilla activity and pestilence over the duration of the war. A further 50,000^{[Note 2]}were sent to slavery in the West Indies. Some historians estimate that as much as half of the pre-war population of Ireland may have died as a result of the conflict.^[46] ASUS Eee PC 701 CPU Fan The religious struggles of the 17th century left a deep sectarian division in Ireland. Religious allegiance now determined the perception in law of loyalty to the Irish King and Parliament. After the passing of the Test Act 1672, and with the victory of the forces of the dual monarchy of William and Mary over the Jacobites, Roman Catholics and nonconforming Protestant Dissenters were barred from sitting as members in the Irish Parliament. Compaq Presario CQ60-305sa CPU Fan Under the emerging penal laws Irish Roman Catholics and Dissenters were increasingly deprived of various and sundry civil rights even to the ownership of hereditary property. Additional regressive punitive legislation followed 1703, 1709 and 1728. This completed a comprehensive systemic effort to materially disadvantage Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters, while enriching a new ruling class of Anglican conformists.^[47] HP 637607-001 CPU Fan The new Anglo-Irish ruling class became known as the Protestant Ascendancy. An extraordinary climatic shock known as the "Great Frost" struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters. The winters destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples and the poor summers severely damaged harvests.^[48] HP Pavilion dv7-3067nr CPU Fan This resulted in the famine of 1740. An estimated 250,000 people (about one in eight of the population) died from the ensuing pestilence and disease.^[49] The Irish government halted export of corn and kept the army in quarters but did little more.^[49][50] Local gentry and charitable organisations provided relief but could do little to prevent the ensuing mortality.^[49][50] HP Pavilion dv5-1210ez CPU Fan In the aftermath of the famine, an increase in industrial production and a surge in trade brought a succession of construction booms. The population soared in the latter part of this century and the architectural legacy of Georgian Ireland was built. In 1782,Poynings' Law was repealed, giving Ireland legislative independence from Great Britain for the first time since 1495.Compaq Presario CQ50-211nr CPU Fan The British government, however, still retained the right to nominate the government of Ireland without the consent of the Irish parliament. In 1798, members of the Protestant Dissenter tradition (mainly Presbyterian) made common cause with Roman Catholics in a republican rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen, with the aim of creating an independent Ireland. HP G56-114SA CPU Fan Despite assistance from France the rebellion was put down by British and Irish government and yeomanry forces. In 1800, the British and Irish parliaments both passed Acts of Union that, with effect from 1 January 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. SONY Vaio VGN-CR21Z/N CPU Fan The passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was ultimately achieved with substantial majorities, having failed on the first attempt in 1799. According to contemporary documents and historical analysis, this was achieved through a considerable degree of bribery, with funding provided by the British Secret Service Office, and the awarding of peerages, places and honours to secure votes.^[51] HP Pavilion dv7-4060eo CPU Fan Thus, Ireland became part of an extended United Kingdom, ruled directly by a united parliament at Westminster in London.Aside from the development of the linen industry, Ireland was largely passed over by the industrial revolution, partly because it lacked coal and iron resources^[52][53] and partly because of the impact of the sudden union with the structurally superior economy of England,^[54] which saw Ireland as a source of agricultural produce and capital. Toshiba Satellite M70-252 CPU Fan The Great Famine of the 1840s caused the deaths of one million Irish people and over a million more emigrated to escape it.^[57] By the end of the decade, half of all immigration to the United States was from Ireland. The period of civil unrest that followed until the end of the 19th century is referred to as the Land War. Mass emigration became deeply entrenched and the population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. Toshiba Satellite A100-455 CPU Fan Immediately prior to the famine the population was recorded as 8.2 million by the 1841 census.^[58] The population has never returned to this level since.^[59] The population continued to fall until 1961 and it was not until the 2006 census that the last county of Ireland (County Leitrim) to record a rise in population since 1841 did so. The 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of modern Irish nationalism, primarily among the Roman Catholic population. HP Pavilion dv5-2112br CPU Fan The pre-eminent Irish political figure after the Union was Daniel O'Connell. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Ennisin a surprise result and despite being unable to take his seat as a Roman Catholic. O'Connell spearheaded a vigorous campaign that was taken up by the Prime Minister, the Irish-born soldier and statesman, the Duke of Wellington. DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan Steering the Catholic Relief Bill through Parliament, aided by future prime minister Robert Peel, Wellington prevailed upon a reluctant George IVto sign the Bill and proclaim it into law. George's father had opposed the plan of the earlier Prime Minister, Pitt the Younger, to introduce such a bill following the Union of 1801, fearing Catholic Emancipation to be in conflict with the Act of Settlement 1701. HP Pavilion dv6-3299en CPU Fan A subsequent campaign, led by O'Connell, for the repeal of the Act of Union failed. Later in the century, Charles Stewart Parnell and others campaigned for autonomy within the Union, or "Home Rule". Unionists, especially those located in Ulster, were strongly opposed to Home Rule, which they thought would be dominated by Catholic interests.^[60] SONY Vaio VGN-NW11Z/T CPU Fan After several attempts to pass a Home Rule bill through parliament, it looked certain that one would finally pass in 1914. To prevent this from happening, the Ulster Volunteers were formed in 1913 under the leadership of Edward Carson.^[61] Their formation was followed in 1914 by the establishment of the Irish Volunteers, whose aim was to ensure that the Home Rule Bill was passed. Toshiba Satellite L550-20W CPU Fan The Act was passed but with the "temporary" exclusion of the six counties of Ulster that would become Northern Ireland. Before it could be implemented, however, the Act was suspended for the duration of the First World War. The Irish Volunteers split into two groups. The majority, approximately 175,000 in number, under John Redmond, took the name National Volunteers and supported Irish involvement in the war. HP Pavilion dv7-4183sf CPU Fan A minority, approximately 13,000, retained the Irish Volunteers' name, and opposed Ireland's involvement in the war.The failed Easter Rising of 1916 was carried out by the latter group in alliance with a smaller socialist militia, the Irish Citizen Army. The British response, executing fifteen leaders of the Rising over a period of ten days and imprisoning or interning more than a thousand people, turned the mood of the country in favour of the rebels. HP Pavilion dv7-3190ev CPU Fan Support for Irish republicanism increased further due to the ongoing war in Europe, as well as the Conscription Crisis of 1918.^[62] The pro-independence republican party, Sinn Féin, received overwhelming endorsement in the general election of 1918, and in 1919 proclaimed an Irish Republic, setting up its own parliament (Dáil Éireann) and government. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan Simultaneously the Volunteers, which became known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), launched a three-year guerilla war, which ended in a truce in July 1921 (although violence continued until June 1922, mostly in Northern Ireland).^[62] In December 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British Government and representatives of the Second Dáil.HP G62-244CA CPU Fan It gave Ireland complete independence in its home affairs and practical independence for foreign policy, but an opt-out clause allowed Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom, which it immediately exercised as expected. Additionally, an oath of allegiance to the King was to be taken.^[63] HP Pavilion dv7-3190ei CPU Fan Disagreements over these provisions led to a split in the nationalist movement and a subsequent civil war between the new government of the Irish Free State and those opposed to the treaty, led by Éamon de Valera. The civil war officially ended in May 1923 when de Valera issued a cease-fire order. During its first decade the newly formed Irish Free State was governed by the victors of the civil war. HP G62-244CA CPU Fan When de Valera achieved power, he took advantage of the Statute of Westminster and political circumstances to build upon inroads to greater sovereignty made by the previous government. The oath was abolished and in 1937 a new constitution was adopted.^[62] This completed a process of gradual separation from the British Empire that governments had pursued since independence. ASUS A6000R CPU Fan However, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland. The state was neutral during World War II, but offered clandestine assistance to the Allies, particularly in the potential defence of Northern Ireland. Despite being neutral, approximately 50,000^[65] volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses. HP Pavilion dv7-6011sg CPU Fan German Intelligence was also active in Ireland.^[66] German intelligence operations effectively ended in September 1941 whenpolice made arrests on the basis of surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Ireland, including that of the United States. To the authorities counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence. Toshiba Satellite L300D-01P CPU Fan With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side of the conflict.^[66][67] Large-scale emigration marked the 1950s and 1980s, but beginning in 1987 the economy improved, and the 1990s saw the beginning of substantial economic growth. Compaq Presario CQ60-409CA CPU Fan This period of growth became known as the Celtic Tiger.^[68] The Republic's real GDP grew by an average of 9.6% per annum between 1995 and 1999,^[69] in which year the Republic joined the euro. In 2000 Ireland was the sixth-richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.^[70] Social changes followed quickly on the heels of economic prosperity, HP Mini 110-3010sf CPU Fan ranging from the 'modernisation' of the annual parade in Dublin to mark the principal national holiday of Saint Patrick's Day (17 March), to the decline in authority of the Catholic Church. The financial crisis of 2008–2010 dramatically ended this period of boom. GDP fell by 3% in 2008 and by 7.1% in 2009, the worst year since records began (although earnings by foreign-owned businesses continued to grow).^[71Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan ^] The state has since experienced deep recession, with unemployment, which doubled during 2009, remaining above 14% in 2012. Northern Ireland was created as a division of the United Kingdom by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and until 1972 it was a self-governing jurisdiction within the United Kingdom with its own parliament and prime minister. Toshiba Satellite M70-142 CPU Fan Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, was not neutral during the Second World War and Belfast suffered four bombing raids in 1941. Conscription was not extended to Northern Ireland and roughly an equal number volunteered from Northern Ireland as volunteered from the south. One, James Joseph Magennis, received the Victoria Cross for valour. DELL Inspiron E1505 CPU Fan Although Northern Ireland was largely spared the strife of the civil war, in decades that followed partition there were sporadic episodes of inter-communal violence. Nationalists, mainly Roman Catholic, wanted to unite Ireland as an independent republic, whereas unionists, mainly Protestant, wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom. HP 532613-001 CPU Fan The Protestant and Catholic communities in Northern Ireland voted largely along sectarian lines, meaning that the Government of Northern Ireland (elected by "first-past-the-post" from 1929) was controlled by the Ulster Unionist Party. Over time, the minority Catholic community felt increasingly alienated with further disaffection fueled by practices such as gerrymandering and discriminationin housing and employment. HP Envy 14-1080eo CPU Fan In the late 1960s, nationalist grievances were aired publicly in mass civil rights protests, which were often confronted byloyalist counter-protests.^[76] The government's reaction to confrontations was seen to be one-sided and heavy-handed in favour of unionists. Law and order broke down as unrest and inter-communal violence increased.^[77] ACER TravelMate 5230 CPU Fan The Northern Ireland government requested the British Army to aid the police, who were exhausted after several nights of serious rioting. In 1969, the paramilitary Provisional IRA, which favoured the creation of a united Ireland, emerged from a split in the Irish Republican Army and began a campaign against what it called the "British occupation of the six counties".Lenovo 3000 G430 CPU Fan Other groups, on both the unionist side and the nationalist side, participated in violence and a period known as the Troublesbegan. Over 3,600 deaths resulted over the subsequent three decades of conflict.^[78] Owing to the civil unrest during the Troubles, the British government suspended home rule in 1972 and imposed direct rule. There were several unsuccessful attempts to end the Troubles politically, such as the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973. ASUS EEE PC 1215N CPU Fan In 1998, following a ceasefire by the Provisional IRA and multi-party talks, the Good Friday Agreement was concluded as a treaty between the British and Irish governments, annexing the text agreed in the multi-party talks. The substance of the Agreement (formally referred to as the Belfast Agreement) was later endorsed by referendums in both parts of Ireland. Dell Vostro 3750 CPU Fan The Agreement restored self-government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power-sharing in a regional Executive drawn from the major parties in a new Northern Ireland Assembly, with entrenched protections for the two main communities. The Executive is jointly headed by a First Minister and deputy First Minister drawn from the unionist and nationalist parties. Toshiba Satellite L500-018 CPU Fan Violence had decreased greatly after the Provisional IRA and loyalist ceasefires in 1994 and in 2005 the Provisional IRA announced the end of its armed campaign and an independent commission supervised its disarmament and that of other nationalist and unionist paramilitary organisations.^[79] The Assembly and power-sharing Executive were suspended several times but were restored again in 2007. COMPAQ Presario CQ42-116TU CPU Fan In that year the British government officially ended its military support of the police in Northern Ireland (Operation Banner) and began withdrawing troops. On Wednesday, 27 June 2012, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister and former IRA commander, Martin McGuinness, shook hands with Queen Elizabeth II in Belfast, a handshake symbolizing reconciliation between the two nations. HP Pavilion dv6-2115eg CPU Fan Politically, the island is divided between Ireland, a sovereign state also called the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland, a constituent country of theUnited Kingdom. They share an open border and both are part of the Common Travel Area. Both Ireland and the United Kingdom are members of the European Union, and as a consequence there is free movement of people, goods, services and capital across the border. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan The Republic of Ireland is a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminister model with a written constitution and a popularly elected president who has mostly ceremonial powers. The Government is headed by a prime minister, the Taoiseach, who is appointed by the President on the nomination of the lower house of parliament, the Dáil. HP 646578-001 CPU Fan Members of the government are chosen from both the Dáil and the upper house of parliament, the Seanad. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland today ranks amongst the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita^[80] and in 2011 was ranked the seventh most developed nation in the world by the United Nations' Human Development Index.^[81] SONY VAIO PCG-6L2L CPU Fan A period of rapid economic expansion from 1995 onwards became known as the Celtic Tiger period, was brought to an end in 2008 with an unprecedentedfinancial crisis and and economic depression in 2009.

For example, Sastre and Ayala

For example, Sastre and Ayala, conclude from their study of income Gini coefficient data between 1993 and 1998 for six developed economies, that France had the least income mobility, Italy the highest, and the United States and Germany intermediate levels of income mobility over those 5 years. HP Pavilion dv7-2250sf CPU Fan Gini coefficient has features that make it useful as a measure of dispersion in a population, and inequalities in particular.^[45] It is a ratio analysis method making it easier to interpret. It also avoids references to a statistical average or position unrepresentative of most of the population, such as per capita income or gross domestic product. HP 434678-001 CPU Fan For a given time interval, Gini coefficient can therefore be used to compare diverse countries and different regions or groups within a country; for example states, counties, urban versus rural areas, gender and ethnic groups. Gini coefficients can be used to compare income distribution over time, thus it is possible to see if inequality is increasing or decreasing independent of absolute incomes. HP G60-230us CPU Fan The Gini coefficient is a relative measure. Its proper use and interpretation is controversial.^[49] Mellor explains^[50] it is possible for the Gini coefficient of a developing country to rise (due to increasing inequality of income) while the number of people in absolute poverty decreases. This is because the Gini coefficient measures relative, HP Pavilion dv6365us CPU Fan not absolute, wealth. Kwok concludes^[51] that changing income inequality, measured by Gini coefficients, can be due to structural changes in a society such as growing population (baby booms, aging populations, increased divorce rates, extended family households splitting into nuclear families, emigration, immigration) and income mobility. HP 535439-001 CPU Fan Gini coefficients are simple, and this simplicity can lead to oversights and can confuse the comparison of different populations; for example, while both Bangladesh (per capita income of $1,693) and the Netherlands (per capita income of $42,183) had an income Gini index of 0.31 in 2010,^[52] COMPAQ 6910c CPU Fan the quality of life, economic opportunity and absolute income in these countries are very different, i.e. countries may have identical Gini coefficients, but differ greatly in wealth. Basic necessities may be available to all in a developed economy, while in an undeveloped economy with the same Gini coefficient, basic necessities may be unavailable to most or unequally available, due to lower absolute wealth. IBM Lenovo IdeaPad G510 CPU Fan Even when the total income of a population is the same, in certain situations two countries with different income distributions can have the same Gini index (e.g. cases when income Lorenz Curves cross).^[45] Table A illustrates one such situation. Both countries have a Gini index of 0.2, but the average income distributions for household groups are different. HP G62-110SO CPU Fan As another example, in a population where the lowest 50% of individuals have no income and the other 50% have equal income, the Gini coefficient is 0.5; whereas for another population where the lowest 75% of people have 25% of income and the top 25% have 75% of the income, the Gini index is also 0.5. DELL Precision M6400 CPU Fan Economies with similar incomes and Gini coefficients can have very different income distributions. Bellù and Liberati claim that to rank income inequality between two different populations based on their Gini indices is sometimes not possible, or misleading. A Gini index does not contain information about absolute national or personal incomes. SONY Vaio VPC-EB290X CPU Fan Populations can have very low income Gini indices, yet simultaneously very high wealth Gini index. By measuring inequality in income, the Gini ignores the differential efficiency of use of household income. By ignoring wealth (except as it contributes to income) the Gini can create the appearance of inequality when the people compared are at different stages in their life. HP Envy 17-1090eo CPU Fan Wealthy countries such as Sweden can show a low Gini coefficient for disposable income of 0.31 thereby appearing equal, yet have very high Gini coefficient for wealth of 0.79 to 0.86 thereby suggesting an extremely unequal wealth distribution in its society.^[54][55] These factors are not assessed in income-based Gini. Toshiba Satellite A210-1CF CPU Fan Gini index has a downward-bias for small populations.^[56] Counties or states or countries with small populations and less diverse economies will tend to report small Gini coefficients. For economically diverse large population groups, a much higher coefficient is expected than for each of its regions. Taking world economy as one, and income distribution for all human beings, Dell Vostro 3450 CPU Fan for example, different scholars estimate global Gini index to range between 0.61 and 0.68.^[9][10] As with other inequality coefficients, the Gini coefficient is influenced by the granularity of the measurements. For example, five 20% quantiles (low granularity) will usually yield a lower Gini coefficient than twenty 5% quantiles (high granularity) for the same distribution. Toshiba Satellite A10-103 CPU Fan Philippe Monfort has shown that using inconsistent or unspecified granularity limits the usefulness of Gini coefficient measurements.^[57] The Gini coefficient measure gives different results when applied to individuals instead of households, for the same economy and same income distributions. Compaq Presario A900 CTO CPU Fan If household data is used, the measured value of income Gini depends on how the household is defined. When different populations are not measured with consistent definitions, comparison is not meaningful. Deininger and Squire (1996) show that income Gini coefficient based on individual income, rather than household income, are different. ACER Aspire 4736ZG CPU Fan For United States, for example, they find that individual income-based Gini index was 0.35, while for France they report individual income-based Gini index to be 0.43. According to their individual focussed method, in the 108 countries they studied, South Africa had the world's highest Gini index at 0.62, Toshiba Satellite A10-103 CPU Fan Malaysia had Asia's highest Gini index at 0.5, Brazil the highest at 0.57 in Latin America and Caribbean region, and Turkey the highest at 0.5 in OECD countries. Expanding on the importance of life-span measures, the Gini coefficient as a point-estimate of equality at a certain time, ignores life-span changes in income. SONY MCF-519PAM05 CPU Fan Typically, increases in the proportion of young or old members of a society will drive apparent changes in equality, simply because people generally have lower incomes and wealth when they are young than when they are old. Because of this, factors such as age distribution within a population and mobility within income classes can create the appearance of inequality when none exist taking into account demographic effects. SONY Vaio VPC-EB290X CPU Fan Thus a given economy may have a higher Gini coefficient at any one point in time compared to another, while the Gini coefficient calculated over individuals' lifetime income is actually lower than the apparently more equal (at a given point in time) economy's.^[13] Essentially, what matters is not just inequality in any particular year, but the composition of the distribution over time. HP Pavilion dv7-2043cl CPU Fan Kwok claims income Gini index for Hong Kong has been high (0.434 in 2010^[52]), in part because of structural changes in its population. Over recent decades, Hong Kong has witnessed increasing numbers of small households, elderly households and elderly living alone. The combined income is now split into more households. HP Pavilion dv7-2130ev CPU Fan Many old people are living separately from their children in Hong Kong. These social changes have caused substantial changes in household income distribution. Income Gini coefficient, claims Kwok, does not discern these structural changes in its society.^[51] Household money income distribution for the United States, HP 608772-001 CPU Fan summarized in Table C of this section, confirms that this issue is not limited to just Hong Kong. According to the US Census Bureau, between 1979 and 2010, the population of United States experienced structural changes in overall households, the income for all income brackets increased in inflation-adjusted terms, household income distributions shifted into higher income brackets over time, while the income Gini coefficient increased.^[59][60] Toshiba Satellite A100-194 CPU Fan Another limitation of Gini coefficient is that it is not a proper measure of egalitarianism, as it is only measures income dispersion. For example, if two equally egalitarian countries pursue different immigration policies, the country accepting a higher proportion of low-income or impoverished migrants will report a higher Gini coefficient and therefore may appear to exhibit more income inequality. HP Pavilion tx1205/ CT CPU Fan Arnold describes one limitation of Gini coefficient to be income distribution situations where it misleads. The income of poorest fifth of households can be lower when Gini coefficient is lower, than when the poorest income bracket is earning a larger percentage of all income. Table D illustrates this case, HP Pavilion dv6640ep CPU Fan where the lowest income bracket has an average household market income of $500 per year at Gini index of 0.51, and zero income at Gini index of 0.48. This is counter-intuitive and Gini coefficient cannot tell what is happening to each income bracket or the absolute income, cautions Arnold.^[61][62] COMPAQ Presario CQ42-401TU CPU Fan Feldstein similarly explains one limitation of Gini coefficient as its focus on relative income distribution, rather than real levels of poverty and prosperity in society.^[63] He claims Gini coefficient analysis is limited because in many situations it intuitively implies inequality that violate the so-called Pareto improvement principle. Toshiba Satellite A300D CPU Fan The Pareto improvement principle, named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, states that a social, economic or income change is good if it makes one or more people better off without making anyone else worse off. Gini coefficient can rise if some or all income brackets experience a rising income. Feldstein’s explanation is summarized in Table D. HP Pavilion dv8397ea CPU  Fan The table shows that in a growing economy, consistent with Pareto improvement principle, where income of every segment of the population has increased, from one year to next, the income inequality Gini coefficient can rise too. In contrast, in another economy, if everyone gets poorer and is worse off, income inequality is less and Gini coefficient lower. HP Pavilion dv9821ea CPU Fan Some countries distribute benefits that are difficult to value. Countries that provide subsidized housing, medical care, education or other such services are difficult to value objectively, as it depends on quality and extent of the benefit. In absence of free markets, valuing these income transfers as household income is subjective. HP COMPAQ TC4200 CPU Fan The theoretical model of Gini coefficient is limited to accepting correct or incorrect subjective assumptions.In subsistence-driven and informal economies, people may have significant income in other forms than money, for example through subsistence farming orbartering. These income tend to accrue to the segment of population that is below-poverty line or very poor, SONY Vaio VGN-NW228F CPU Fan in emerging and transitional economy countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. Informal economy accounts for over half of global employment and as much as 90 per cent of employment in some of the poorer sub-Saharan countries with high official Gini inequality coefficients. HP G62-b16ST CPU Fan Schneider et al., in their 2010 study of 162 countries,^[66] report about 31.2%, or about $20 trillion, of world's GDP is informal. In developing countries, the informal economy predominates for all income brackets except for the richer, urban upper income bracket populations. Even in developed economies, between 8% (United States) to 27% (Italy) of each nation's GDP is informal, HP 580696-001 CPU Fan and resulting informal income predominates as a livelihood activity for those in the lowest income brackets.^[67] The value and distribution of the incomes from informal or underground economy is difficult to quantify, making true income Gini coefficients estimates difficult.^[63][64] Different assumptions and quantifications of these incomes will yield different Gini coefficients.^[ HP Pavilion dv6-3049tx CPU Fan Gini has some mathematical limitations as well. It is not additive and different sets of people cannot be averaged to obtain the Gini coefficient of all the people in the sets.Given the limitations of Gini coefficient, other statistical methods are used in combination or as an alternative measure of population dispersity. For example,entropy measures are frequently used (e.g. the Theil Index and the Atkinson index). HP G42-380LA CPU Fan These measures attempt to compare the distribution of resources by intelligent agents in the market with a maximum entropy random distribution, which would occur if these agents acted like non-intelligent particles in a closed system following the laws of statistical physics. Although the Gini coefficient is most popular in economics, it can in theory be applied in any field of science that studies a distribution. Toshiba Qosmio G30-167 CPU Fan For example, in ecology the Gini coefficient has been used as a measure of biodiversity, where the cumulative proportion of species is plotted against cumulative proportion of individuals.^[75] In health, it has been used as a measure of the inequality of health related quality of life in a population.^[76] In education, it has been used as a measure of the inequality of universities.^[77] HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan In chemistry it has been used to express the selectivity of protein kinase inhibitors against a panel of kinases.^[78] In engineering, it has been used to evaluate the fairness achieved by Internet routers in scheduling packet transmissions from different flows of traffic.^[79] In statistics, building decision trees, it is used to measure the purity of possible child nodes, Compaq Presario CQ40-408AX CPU Fan with the aim of maximising the average purity of two child nodes when splitting, and it has been compared with other equality measures.^[80] The Gini coefficient is sometimes used for the measurement of the discriminatory power of rating systems in credit risk management.^[81] HP Mini 110-1110ET CPU Fan The discriminatory power refers to a credit risk model's ability to differentiate between defaulting and non-defaulting clients. The formula  , in calculation section above, may be used for the final model and also at individual model factor level, to quantify the discriminatory power of individual factors. It is related to accuracy ratio in population assessment models. HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan A diversity index is a quantitative measure that reflects how many different types (such as species) there are in a dataset, and simultaneously takes into account how evenly the basic entities (such as individuals) are distributed among those types. The value of a diversity index increases both when the number of types increases and when evenness increases. HP Pavilion dv6-3163eo CPU Fan For a given number of types, the value of a diversity index is maximized when all types are equally abundant.When diversity indices are used in ecology, the types of interest are usually species, but they can also be other categories, such as genera, families,functional types or haplotypes. The entities of interest are usually individual plants or animals, HP Pavilion dv9740us CPU Fan and the measure of abundance can be, for example, number of individuals, biomass or coverage. In demography, the entities of interest can be people, and the types of interest various demographic groups. In information science, the entities can be characters and the types the different letters of the alphabet. HP COMPAQ NX9420 CPU Fan The most commonly used diversity indices are simple transformations of the effective number of types (also known as 'true diversity'), but each diversity index can also be interpreted in its own right as a measure corresponding to some real phenomenon (but a different one for each diversity index). HP Pavilion dv7-4150ec CPU Fan True diversity, or the effective number of types, refers to the number of equally-abundant types needed for the average proportional abundance of the types to equal that observed in the dataset of interest (where all types may not be equally abundant). The true diversity in a dataset is calculated by first taking the weighted generalized mean of the proportional abundances of the types in the dataset, and then taking the inverse of this. HP Pavilion dv5-1102tu CPU Fan The denominator equals average proportional abundance of the types in the dataset as calculated with the weighted generalized mean with exponent q - 1. In the equation, R is richness (the total number of types in the dataset), and the proportional abundance of the ith type is . The proportional abundances themselves are used as the nominal weights. SONY VGN-SZ220 CPU Fan he value of q is often referred to as the order of the diversity. It defines the sensitivity of the diversity value to rare vs. abundant species by modifying how the mean of the species proportional abundances is calculated. With some values of the parameter q, the generalized mean with exponent q - 1 gives familiar kinds of mean as special cases. HP Pavilion dv7-6011tx CPU Fan In particular, q = 0 corresponds to the harmonic mean, q = 1 to the geometric mean and q = 2 to the arithmetic mean. As qapproaches infinity, the generalized mean with exponent q - 1 approaches the maximum   value, which is the proportional abundance of the most abundant species in the dataset. HP Pavilion dv5-1040eb CPU Fan In practice, increasing the value of q hence increases the effective weight given to the most abundant species. This leads to obtaining a larger mean   value and a smaller true diversity (^qD) value.When q = 1, the geometric mean of the   values is used, and each species is exactly weighted by its proportional abundance (in the geometric mean, weights are the exponents). ASUS F3Jv CPU Fan When q > 1, the weight given to abundant species is exaggerated, and when q < 1, the weight given to rare species is. At q = 0, the species weights exactly cancel out the species proportional abundances, such that mean   equals 1/R even when all species are not equally abundant. At q = 0, the effective number of species (⁰D) hence equals the actual number of species (R). IBM ThinkPad R50p 2887 CPU Fan In the context of diversity, q is generally limited to non-negative values. This is because negative values of q would give rare species so much more weight than abundant ones that ^qD would exceed R. Richness R simply quantifies how many different types the dataset of interest contains. SONY VGN-CS36GJ/R CPU Fan For example, species richness (usually notated S) of a dataset is the number of different species in the corresponding species list. Richness is a simple measure, so it has been a popular diversity index in ecology, where abundance data are often not available for the datasets of interest. Toshiba Satellite A215-S4807 CPU Fan Because richness does not take the abundances of the types into account, it is not the same thing as diversity, which does take abundances into account. However, if true diversity is calculated with q = 0, the effective number of types (⁰D) equals the actual number of types (R). The Shannon index has been a popular diversity index in the ecological literature, Toshiba Satellite Pro M10-SP405 CPU Fan where it is also known as Shannon's diversity index, the Shannon-Wiener index, the Shannon-Weaver index and the Shannon entropy. The measure was originally proposed by Claude Shannon to quantify the entropy (uncertainty or information content) in strings of text.^[5] The idea is that the more different letters there are, HP Pavilion dv4-1120us CPU Fan and the more equal their proportional abundances in the string of interest, the more difficult it is to correctly predict which letter will be the next one in the string. The Shannon entropy quantifies the uncertainty (entropy or degree of surprise) associated with this prediction. In ecology,   is often the proportion of individuals belonging to the ith species in the dataset of interest. Compaq Presario C550EM CPU Fan Then the Shannon entropy quantifies the uncertainty in predicting the species identity of an individual that is taken at random from the dataset. Although the equation is here written with natural logarithms, the base of the logarithm used when calculating the Shannon entropy can be chosen freely. Toshiba Qosmio E15-AV101 CPU Fan Shannon himself discussed logarithm bases 2, 10 and e, and these have since become the most popular bases in applications that use the Shannon entropy. Each log base corresponds to a different measurement unit, which have been called binary digits (bits), decimal digits (decits) and natural digits (nats) for the bases 2, 10 and e, respectively. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan Comparing Shannon entropy values that were originally calculated with different log bases requires converting them to the same log base: change from the base a to base b is obtained with multiplication by log_ba. Toshiba Satellite A305-S6837 CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv7-4087cl CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv5-1118es CPU Fan

Next in 2006 came the EU's structural funds

Next in 2006 came the EU's structural funds, which are used to support specific regions in the EU, as part of EU's regional policy, which aims to reduce regional disparities in terms of income, wealth and opportunities. Lenovo 3000 G430 CPU Fan Europe's poorer regions receive most of the support, but all European regions are eligible for funding under the policy's various funds and programmes. In 2006 approximately 30.4% of the EU budget was used for such support. While the CAP spending is going down, the regional support is increasing, and is expected to reach almost 36% in 2013.^[7] ASUS EEE PC 1215N CPU Fan Internal policies (training, youth, culture, audiovisual, media, information, energy, Euratom nuclear safeguards and environment, consumer protection, internal market, industry and Trans-European networks, research and technological development, other internal policies) took up around 8.5% in the 2006 budget. Dell Vostro 3750 CPU Fan Administration, i.e. the actual running of the EU institutions, including salaries and property costs, accounted for around 6.3% in 2006. External actions, i.e. EU's international activities outside the EU (development aid, peace keeping and security work, election observers etc.) accounted for 4.9% in 2006. Toshiba Satellite L500-018 CPU Fan Finally, the pre-accession strategy, compensations and reserves brought up the rear of the budget, with approximately 2.1%, 1% and 0.1% respectively in 2006. Net receipts or contributions vary over time, and there are various ways of calculating net contributions to the EU budget, depending, for instance, on whether countries' administrative expenditure is included. COMPAQ Presario CQ42-116TU CPU Fan Also, one can use either absolute figures (which indicate that Germany is the largest contributor), the proportion of GDP (which show that Denmark is the largest contributor), or per capita amounts (which show that Denmark is the largest contributor). Different countries may tend to favour different methods, to present their country in a more favourable light. HP Pavilion dv6-2115eg CPU Fan The table shows the traditional calculation (with own resources), based on research by Deutsche BankResearch (net contributors are shown in blue).^[8] As a proportion of GDP, net contributors pay from 0.09 percent (Ireland) to 0.53 percent (Denmark), and net recipients receive from 0.04 percent (Spain) to 5.33 percent (Lithuania). Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan On 29 June 2011, the European Commission presented the Communication 'A budget for Europe 2020' to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.^[9]Due to the tough economic times, seven member states (Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) HP 646578-001 CPU Fan argued during the 26 March 2012 General Affairs Council meeting that the EC's proposed overall amount for the seven-year EU budget plan should be reduced by €100 billion, or in the case of Sweden, by more than €100 billion.^[10] On 8 February 2013, European Union leaders agreed to cut the budget by 3.3%; SONY VAIO PCG-6L2L CPU Fan the agreement on the proposed budget by the European Council has yet to be approved by the European Parliament, adopted unanimously by the Council of the European Union and ratified by the national parliaments of all member states; if adopted, it will be the first cut in its 56-year history.^[11][12][13] Toshiba Satellite X205-S9349 CPU Fan The Budget was finally approved by the European Parliament Tuesday 19th November 2013 by overwhelming majority. MEPs voted 537 in favour, 126 against and with 19 abstentions. Although the European Union has legislated in the area of energy policy for many years, and evolved out of the European Coal and Steel Community,  DELL yy529 CPU Fan the concept of introducing a mandatory and comprehensive European energy policy was only approved at the meeting of the informal European Council on 27 October 2005 at Hampton Court. The EU Treaty of Lisbon of 2007 legally includes solidarity in matters of energy supply and changes to the energy policy within the EU. HP Pavilion dv7-3020es CPU Fan Prior to the Treaty of Lisbon, EU energy legislation has been based on the EU authority in the area of the common market and environment. However, in practice many policy competencies in relation to energy remain at national member state level, and progress in policy at European level requires voluntary cooperation by members states.^[1] HP G62-369TX CPU Fan In 2007, the EU was importing 82% of its oil and 57% of its gas, which then made it the world's leading importer of these fuels.^[2]Only 3% of the uranium used in European nuclear reactors was mined in Europe. Russia, Canada, Australia, Niger and Kazakhstan were the five largest suppliers of nuclear materials to the EU, supplying more than 75% of the total needs in 2009. HP 13.V1.BJ195.F.GN CPU Fan The possible principles of Energy Policy for Europe were elaborated at the Commission's green paper A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy on 8 March 2006.^[4] As a result of the decision to develop a common energy policy, the first proposals, Energy for a Changing World were published by theEuropean Commission, following a consultation process, on 10 January 2007. Toshiba Satellite L675D-S7016 CPU Fan It is claimed that they will lead to a 'post-industrial revolution', or a low-carbon economy, in the European Union, as well as increased competition in the energy markets, improved security of supply, and improved employment prospects. The Commission's proposals have been approved at a meeting of the European Council on 8 and 9 March 2007. HP Pavilion dv7-1451nr CPU Fan Underlying many of the proposals are to designed to limit global temperature changes to no more than 2 °C above pre-industrial levels,^[7] of which 0.8 °C has already taken place and another 0.5–0.7 °C is already committed.^[8] 2 °C is usually seen as the upper temperature limit to avoid 'dangerous global warming'.^[9] HP G62-a57SG CPU Fan Due to only minor efforts in global Climate change mitigation it is highly likely that the world will not be able to reach this particular target. The EU might then not only be forced to accept a less ambitious global target. Because the planned emissions reductions in the European energy sector (95% by 2050) are derived directly from the 2 °C target since 2007, the EU will have to revise its energy policy paradigm. SONY Vaio VGN-NR31S/S CPU Fan The FP7 research program only reserved a moderate amount of funding for energy research, although energy has recently emerged as one of the key issues of the European Union. A large part of FP7 energy funding is also devoted to fusion research, a technology that will not be able to help meet European climate and energy objectives until beyond 2050.^[11] IBM 91P9252 CPU Fan The European Commission tried to redress this shortfall with the SET plan.^[12] The Steering Group on the implementation of the Strategic Energy Technologies Plan (SET Plan) on 26 June 2008 will set the agenda for an EU energy technology policy. It will enhance the coordination of national and European research and innovation efforts to position the EU in the forefront of the low-carbontechnologies markets. Toshiba Satellite M70-122 CPU Fan The European Energy Research Alliance (EERA)^[16] is founded by the leading research institutes in the European Union (EU), to expand and optimise EU energy research capabilities through the sharing of world-class national facilities and the joint realisation of national and European programmes. SONY UDQFWPH22FQU CPU Fan This new Research Alliance will be a key actor of the EU Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET Plan) and will contribute to accelerate the development of new low carbontechnologies for EU to move toward a low carbon economy. Under the requirements of the Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources, HP Pavilion dv6-2150ei CPU Fan which entered into force in October 2001, the member states are expected to meet "indicative" targets for renewable energy production. Although there is significant variation in national targets, the average is that 22% of electricity should be generated by renewables by 2010 (compared to 13,9% in 1997). HP G42-367TU CPU Fan The European Commission has proposed in its Renewable Energy Roadmap21 a binding target of increasing the level of renewable energy in the EU's overall mix from less than 7% today to 20% by 2020. At the Heiligendamm Summit in June 2007, the G8 acknowledged an EU proposal for an international initiative on energy efficiency tabled in March 2007, Toshiba Satellite P100-238 CPU Fan and agreed to explore, together with the International Energy Agency, the most effective means to promote energy efficiency internationally. A year later, on 8 June 2008, the G8 countries, China, India, South Korea and the European Community decided to establish the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, ACER Aspire 5739 CPU Fan at the Energy Ministerial meeting hosted by Japan in the frame of the 2008 G8 Presidency, in Aomori.Buildings account for around 40% of EU energy requirements and have been the focus of several initiatives.^[24] From 4 January 2006, the 2002 Directive on the energy performance of buildings^[25] requires member states to ensure that new buildings, IBM ThinkPad T40 2678 CPU Fan as well as large existing building undergoing refurbishment, meet certain minimum energy requirements. It also requires that all buildings should undergo 'energy certification' prior to sale, and that boilers and air conditioning equipment should be regularly inspected. As part of the EU's SAVE Programme,^[26] aimed at promoting energy efficiency and encouraging energy-saving behaviour, IBM Thinkpad T43 CPU Fan the Boiler Efficiency Directive^[27] specifies minimum levels of efficiency for boilers fired with liquid or gaseous fuels. Originally, from June 2007, all homes (and other buildings) in the UK would have to undergo Energy Performance Certification before they are sold or let,^[28] to meet the requirements of the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Directive 2002/91/EC). IBM ThinkPad T43 2668 CPU Fan Carbon dioxide emissions from transport have risen rapidly in recent years, from 21% of the total in 1990 to 28% in 2004.^[30] EU policies include the voluntary ACEA agreement, signed in 1998, to cut carbon dioxide emissions for new cars sold in Europe to an average of 140 grams of CO₂/km by 2008, a 25% cut from the 1995 level. IBM ThinkPad T43 1871 CPU Fan Because the target was unlikely to be met, the European Commission published new proposals in February 2007, requiring a mandatory limit of 130 grams of CO₂/km for new cars by 2012, with 'complementary measures' being proposed to achieve the target of 120 grams of CO₂/km that had originally been expected.^[31][32] ACER Travelmate 8104WLMI CPU Fan In the area of fuels, the 2001 Biofuels Directive requires that 5,75% of all transport fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) should be replaced by biofuels by 31 December 2010, with an intermediate target of 2% by the end of 2005. In February 2007 the European Commission proposed that, DELL Latitude E4300 CPU Fan from 2011, suppliers will have to reduce carbon emissions per unit of energy by 1% a year from 2010 levels, to result in a cut of 10% by 2020 Stricter fuel standards to combat climate change and reduce air pollution. Beyond the bounds of the European Union, EU energy policy has included negotiating and developing wider international agreements, ASUS F80S CPU Fan such as the Energy Charter Treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, the post-Kyoto regime and a framework agreement on energy efficiency; extension of the EC energy regulatory framework or principles to neighbours (Energy Community, Baku Initiative, Euro-Med energy cooperation) and the emission trading scheme to global partners; the promotion of research and the use of renewable energy.^[37] HP Pavilion dv5-1058eo CPU Fan The EU-Russia energy cooperation will be based on a new comprehensive framework agreement within the post-Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which will be negotiated in 2007. The energy cooperation with other third energy producer and transit countries is facilitated with different tools, such as the PCAs, IBM 13N5182 CPU Fan the existing and foreseen Memorandums of Understanding on Energy Cooperation (with Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Algeria), the Association Agreements with Mediterranean countries, theEuropean Neighbourhood Policy Action Plans; Euromed energy cooperation; the Baku initiative; IBM Thinkpad T30 2366-AA3 CPU Fan and the EU-Norway energy dialogue.^[37]For the cooperation with African countries, a comprehensive Africa-Europe Energy partnership would be launched at the highest level, with the integration of Europe's Energy and Development Policies.^[6] For ensuring efficient follow-up and coherence in pursuing the initiatives and processes, IBM Thinkpad T30 CPU Fan for sharing information in case of an external energy crisis, and for assisting the EU's early response and reactions in case of energy security threats, the network of energy correspondents in the Member States was established in early 2007. After the Russian-Ukrainian Gas Crisis of 2009 the EU decided that the existing external measures regarding gas supply security should be HP 535438-001 CPU Fan supplemented by internal provisions for emergency prevention and response, such as enhancing gas storage and network capacity or the development of the technical prerequisites for reverse flow in transit pipelines The European Union is also active in the areas of energy research, development and promotion, via initiatives such as CEPHEUS (ultra-low energy housing), DELL Inspiron N3010 CPU Fan and programs under the umbrella titles of SAVE (energy saving) ALTENER (new and renewable energy sources), STEER (transport) and COOPENER (developing countries).^[40]Through Fusion for Energy, the EU is participating in the ITER project The European Commission imposed anti-dumping levies on Chinese solar panel imports in June 2013.^[39] HP Pavilion dv6-3070tx CPU Fan As reported earlier China was selling solar panels under production costs that made the operation without return also for the Chinese solar power companies. Chinese government guaranteed the operation of Chinese solar power companies. In a poll carried out for the European Commission in October and November 2005, IBM 41W5269 CPU Fan 47% of the citizens questioned in the 27 countries of the EU (including the 2 states that joined in 2007) were in favour of taking decisions on key energy policy issues at a European level. 37% favoured national decisions and 8% that they be tackled locally.^[42] A similar survey of 29 220 people in March and May 2006 indicated that the balance had changed in favour of national decisions in these areas (42% in favour), ASUS A8H CPU Fan with 39% backing EU policy making and 12% preferring local decisions. There was significant national variation with this, with 55% in favour in the Netherlands, but only 15% in Finland The Gini coefficient (also known as the Gini index or Gini ratio) (/dʒini/) is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income distribution of a nation's residents. SONY UDQFRZH13CF0 CPU Fan It was developed by theItalian statistician and sociologist Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variability and Mutability" (Italian: Variabilità e mutabilità).^[1][2] The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of a frequency distribution (for example levels ofincome). A Gini coefficient of zero expresses perfect equality, HP COMPAQ 2510P CPU Fan where all values are the same (for example, where everyone has an exactly equal income). A Gini coefficient of one (or 100%) expresses maximal inequality among values (for example where only one person has all the income).^[3][4] However, a value greater than one may occur if some persons have negative income or wealth. APPLE 661-4951 CPU Fan For larger groups, values close to or above 1 are very unlikely in practice. Gini coefficient is commonly used as a measure of inequality of income or wealth.^[5] For OECD countries, in the late 2000s, considering the effect of taxes and transfer payments, the income Gini coefficient ranged between 0.24 to 0.49, with Slovenia the lowest and Chile the highest.^[6] HP Pavilion dv6-3034ca CPU Fan The countries in Africa had the highest pre-tax Gini coefficients in 2008–2009, with South Africa the world's highest at 0.7.^[7][8] The global income inequality Gini coefficient in 2005, for all human beings taken together, has been estimated to be between 0.61 and 0.68 by various sources.^[9][10] There are some issues in interpreting a Gini coefficient. HP G56-126NR CPU Fan The same value may result from many different distribution curves. The demographic structure should be taken into account. Countries with an aging population, or with a baby boom, experience an increasing pre The Gini coefficient is usually defined mathematically based on the Lorenz curve, Compaq Presario C556CA CPU Fan which plots the proportion of the total income of the population (y axis) that is cumulatively earned by the bottom x% of the population (see diagram). The line at 45 degrees thus represents perfect equality of incomes. The Gini coefficient can then be thought of as the ratio of the area that lies between the line of equality and the Lorenz curve (marked A in the diagram) SONY Vaio VGN-NR360E CPU Fan over the total area under the line of equality (marked A and B in the diagram); i.e., G = A / (A + B). If all people have non-negative income (or wealth, as the case may be), the Gini coefficient can theoretically range from 0 to 1; it is sometimes expressed as a percentage ranging between 0 and 100. In practice, both extreme values are not quite reached. HP Pavilion dv5170us CPU Fan If negative values are possible (such as the negative wealth of people with debts), then the Gini coefficient could theoretically be more than 1. Normally the mean (or total) is assumed positive, which rules out a Gini coefficient less than zero. A low Gini coefficient indicates a more equal distribution, with 0 corresponding to complete equality, SONY Vaio VPC-EE3WFX/WI CPU Fan while higher Gini coefficients indicate more unequal distribution, with 1 corresponding to complete inequality. When used as a measure of income inequality, the most unequal society (assuming no negative incomes) will be one in which a single person receives 100% of the total income and the remaining people receive none (G = 1−1/N); HP G56-126NR CPU Fan and the most equal society will be one in which every person receives the same income (G = 0). An alternative approach would be to consider the Gini coefficient as half of the relative mean difference, which is a mathematical equivalence. The mean difference is the average absolute difference between two items selected randomly from a population, HP 3MLX8TATP20 CPU Fan and the relative mean difference is the mean difference divided by the average, to normalize for scale. Given the normalization of both the cumulative population and the cumulative share of income used to calculate the Gini coefficient, the measure is not overly sensitive to the specifics of the income distribution, but rather only on how incomes vary relative to the other members of a population. SONY Vaio VGN-NW240F/S CPU Fan The exception to this is in the redistribution of wealth resulting in a minimum income for all people. When the population is sorted, if their income distribution were to approximate a well known function, then some representative values could be calculated. Some representative values of the Gini coefficient for income distributions approximated by some simple functions are tabulated below. SONY Vaio VPC-EB1Z0E/B CPU Fan While the income distribution of any particular country need not follow such simple functions, these functions give a qualitative understanding of the income distribution in a nation given the Gini coefficient. The effects of minimum income policy due to redistribution can be seen in the linear relationships above. Compaq Presario CQ60-514NR CPU Fan Gini coefficients of income are calculated on market income as well as disposable income basis. The Gini coefficient on market income – sometimes referred to as pre-tax Gini index – is calculated on income before taxes and transfers, and it measures inequality in income without considering the effect of taxes and social spending already in place in a country. Toshiba Satellite X205-S9800 CPU Fan The Gini coefficient on disposable income – sometimes referred to as after-tax Gini index – is calculated on income after taxes and transfers, and it measures inequality in income after considering the effect of taxes and social spending already in place in a country.^[6][16][17] The difference in Gini indices between OECD countries, on after-taxes and transfers basis, ASUS G2P CPU Fan is significantly narrower.^[ For OECD countries, over 2008–2009 period, Gini coefficient on pre-taxes and transfers basis for total population ranged between 0.34 to 0.53, with South Korea the lowest and Italy the highest. Gini coefficient on after-taxes and transfers basis for total population ranged between 0.25 to 0.48, with Denmark the lowest and Mexico the highest. Compaq Presario CQ60-430SA CPU Fan For United States, the country with the largest population in OECD countries, the pre-tax Gini index was 0.49, and after-tax Gini index was 0.38, in 2008–2009. The OECD averages for total population in OECD countries was 0.46 for pre-tax income Gini index and 0.31 for after-tax income Gini Index.^[6][18] DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan Taxes and social spending that were in place in 2008–2009 period in OECD countries significantly lowered effective income inequality, and in general, "European countries — especially Nordic and Continental welfare states — achieve lower levels of income inequality than other countries."^[19] HP Pavilion dv5-1272et CPU Fan Using the Gini can help quantify differences in welfare and compensation policies and philosophies. However it should be borne in mind that the Gini coefficient can be misleading when used to make political comparisons between large and small countries or those with different immigration policies (see limitations of Gini coefficient section). Toshiba AB7005HX-SB3 CPU Fan The Gini index for the entire world has been estimated by various parties to be between 0.61 and 0.68.The graph shows the values expressed as a percentage, in their historical development for a number of countries.For the late 2000s, the United States had the 4th highest measure of income inequality out of the 34 OECD countries measured, after taxes and transfers had been taken into account.^[21] Toshiba Satellite A500-18T CPU Fan The table below presents the Gini indices for household income, without including the effect of taxes and transfers, for the United Statesat various times, according to the US Census Bureau.^{[22][23][24][25]}The Gini values are a national composite, with significantvariations in Gini between the states. HP Pavilion dv5-2135dx CPU Fan The states of Utah, Alaska and Wyoming have a pre-tax income inequality Gini coefficient that is 10% lower than the U.S. average, while Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico 10% higher. After including the effects of federal and state taxes, the U.S. Federal Reserve estimates 34 states in the USA have a Gini coefficient between 0.30 and 0.35, with the state of Maine the lowest.^[26] ASUS EEE PC 1201NL CPU Fan At the county and municipality levels, the pre-tax Gini index ranged from 0.21 to 0.65 in 2010 across the United States, according to Census Bureau estimates. According to UNICEF, Latin America and the Caribbean region had the highest net income Gini index in the world at 48.3, on unweighted average basis in 2008. SONY Vaio VGN-NW240D/T CPU Fan The remaining regional averages were: sub-Saharan Africa (44.2), Asia (40.4), Middle East and North Africa (39.2), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (35.4), and High-income Countries (30.9). Using the same method, the United States is claimed to have a Gini index of 36, while South Africa had the highest income Gini index score of 67.8. Compaq Presario CQ60-418DX CPU Fan The table below presents the estimated world income Gini index over the last 200 years, as calculated by Milanovic.^[30] Taking income distribution of all human beings, the worldwide income inequality has been constantly increasing since the early 19th century. There was a steady increase in global income inequality Gini score from 1820 to 2002, SONY Vaio VGN-NW240D CPU Fan with a significant increase between 1980 and 2002. This trend appears to have peaked and begun a reversal with rapid economic growth in emerging economies, particularly in the large populations ofBRIC countries. Education Gini index estimates the inequality in education for a given population.^[34] SONY VGN-BX197XP CPU Fan It is used to discern trends in social development through educational attainment over time. From a study of 85 countries, Thomas et al. estimate Mali had the highest education Gini index of 0.92 in 1990 (implying very high inequality in education attainment across the population), while the United States had the lowest education inequality Gini index of 0.14. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan Between 1960 and 1990, South Korea, China and India had the fastest drop in education inequality Gini Index. They also claim education Gini index for the United States slightly increased over the 1980 – 1990 period. Similar in concept to income Gini coefficient, opportunity Gini coefficient measures inequality of opportunity.^[35Toshiba AB7805HX-GB3 CPU Fan The concept builds on Amartya Sen's suggestion^[38] that inequality coefficients of social development should be premised on the process of enlarging people’s choices and enhancing their capabilities, rather than process of reducing income inequality. Toshiba Satellite L500-208 CPU Fan Kovacevic in a review of opportunity Gini coefficient explains that the coefficient estimates how well a society enables its citizens to achieve success in life where the success is based on a person’s choices, efforts and talents, not his background defined by a set of predetermined circumstances at birth, such as, gender, race, place of birth, parent's income and circumstances beyond the control of that individual. HP 535441-001 CPU Fan In 2003, Roemer reported Italy and Spain exhibited the largest opportunity inequality Gini index amongst advanced economies. In 1978, A. Shorrocks introduced a measure based on income Gini coefficients to estimate income mobility.^[40] This measure, generalized by Maasoumi and Zandvakili,^[41] Toshiba Satellite P100-444 CPU Fan is now generally referred to as Shorrocks index, sometimes as Shorrocks mobility index or Shorrocks rigidity index. It attempts to estimate whether the income inequality Gini coefficient is permanent or temporary, and to what extent a country or region enables economic mobility to its people so that they can move from one (e.g. bottom 20%) income quantile to another HP Pavilion dv7-3114eo CPU Fan (e.g. middle 20%) over time. In other words, Shorrocks index compares inequality of short-term earnings such as annual income of households, to inequality of long-term earnings such as 5-year or 10-year total income for same households. Shorrocks index is calculated in number of different ways, a common approach being from the ratio of income Gini coefficients between short-term and long-term for the same region or country.^[42] HP Mini 110-1125SA CPU Fan A 2010 study using social security income data for the United States since 1937 and Gini-based Shorrocks indexes concludes that its income mobility has had a complicated history, primarily due to mass influx of women into the country's labor force after World War II. Income inequality and income mobility trends have been different for men and women workers between 1937 and the 2000s. HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan When men and women are considered together, the Gini coefficient-based Shorrocks Index trends imply long-term income inequality has been substantially reduced among all workers, in recent decades for the United States.^[42] Other scholars, using just 1990s data or other short periods have come to different conclusions.^[43] Compaq Presario CQ60-210eo CPU Fan

Economy of the European Union

http://www.all-laptopfan.com/,http://www.all-keyboard.com/ The economy of the European Union generates a GDP of over €12.894 trillion (US$16.566 trillion in 2012)^[1] according to Eurostat, which makes it the largest economy in the world. The European Union (EU) economy consists of an Internal Market and the EU is represented as a unified entity in the World Trade Organization (WTO). FUJITSU LifeBook A6030 CPU Fan The official currency of the European Union is the euro used in all its documents and policies. The Stability and Growth Pact sets out the fiscal criteria to maintain for stability and (economic) convergence. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU, which is in use in 17 member states known as the Eurozone. SONY Vaio VGN-FS115Z CPU Fan All other member states, apart from Denmark and the United Kingdom, which have special opt-outs, have committed to changing over to the euro once they have fulfilled the requirements needed to do so. Also, Sweden can effectively opt out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which is the preliminary step towards joining. HP 532617-001 CPU Fan The remaining states are committed to join the Euro through their Treaties of Accession. Below is a table showing, respectively, the GDP and the GDP (PPP) per capita for the European Union and for each of its member states, sorted by GDP (PPP). This can be used as a rough gauge to the relative standards of living among member states, with Luxembourg the highest and Bulgaria the lowest. ACER Aspire 5730Z CPU Fan Eurostat, based in Luxembourg, is the Official Statistical Office of the European Communities releasing yearly GDP figures for the member states as well as the EU as a whole, which are regularly updated, supporting this way a measure of wealth and a base for the European Union's budgetary and economic policies. Figures are stated in euro. HP G56-126NR CPU Fan Economic performance varies from state to state. The Growth and Stability Pact governs fiscal policy with the European Union. It applies to all member states, with specific rules which apply to the eurozone members that stipulate that each state's deficit must not exceed 3% of GDP and its public debt must not exceed 60% of GDP. HP Pavilion dv7-6166nr CPU Fan However, many larger members have consistently run deficits substantially in excess of 3%, and the eurozone as a whole has a debt percentage exceeding 60% (see below). The following table shows information relating to the member states of the European Union, ordered according to the 'Size' of their economies. FUJITSU Lifebook A3210 CPU Fan (NB: Were the table ordered according to 'GDP per capita' this would perhaps better reflect the strength of an individual economy. But this is not how such tables are commonly structured.) The colours denote how a member state is performing relative to the rest of the European Union, above average (green) or below average (red). DELL Precision M6400 CPU Fan The smallest and greatest values in each column are emphasised. The data for GDP and GDP per capita (PPP) are based on the World Economic Outlook, October 2013 (International Monetary Fund). The EU's share of Gross world product (GWP) is stable at around one fifth.^[15] Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX CPU Fan The twelve new member states of the European Union have enjoyed a higher average percentage growth rate than their elder members of the EU. Slovakia has the highest GDP growth in the period 2005–2011 among all countries of the European Union (See Tatra Tiger). Notably the Baltic states have achieved massive GDP growth, with Latviatopping 11%, close to China, HP Pavilion dv2660se CPU Fan the world leader at 9% on average for the past 25 years (though these gains have been in great part cancelled by the late-2000's recession). Reasons for this massive growth include government commitments to stable monetary policy, export-oriented trade policies, low flat-tax rates and the utilisation of relatively cheap labour. Toshiba Satellite L500-1XC CPU Fan For the last year (2011), Estoniahad the highest GDP growth from all the states in EU (7,6%). The current map of EU growth is one of huge regional variation, with the larger economies suffering from stagnant growth and the new nations enjoying sustained, robust economic growth. DELL GM0503PEB1-8 (L2.M) CPU Fan Although EU27 GDP is on the increase, the percentage of Gross world product is decreasing due to the emergence of economic powers such as China, India and Brazil. In the medium to long term, the EU will be looking forward to increase GDP growth in Italy and the UK to stabilise growth in European Union states. This is to ensure sustained economic prosperity. HP Pavilion dv7-1098eo CPU Fan The European Union has large coal, oil, and natural gas reserves. There are six oil producers in the European Union, primarily in North Sea oilfields. The United Kingdom by far is the largest producer, however Denmark, Germany, Italy, Romania and the Netherlands all produce oil. If it is treated as a single unit, which is not conventional in the oil markets, Toshiba Satellite A205-S5804 CPU Fan the European Union is the seventh largest producer of oil in the world, producing 3,424,000 (2001)barrels a day. It is also the world's second largest consumer of oil, consuming much more than it can produce, at 14,590,000 (2001) barrels a day. Much of the difference comes from Russia and the Caspian Sea basin. HP Pavilion dv7-1240us CPU Fan All countries in the EU have committed to the Kyoto Protocol, and the European Union is one of its biggest proponents. The European Commission published proposals for the first comprehensive EU energy policy on 10 January 2007. The European Union is the largest exporter in the world^[18] and as of 2008 the largest importer of goods and services.^[19]  DELL yy529 CPU Fan Internal trade between the member states is aided by the removal of barriers to trade such as tariffs and border controls. In the eurozone, trade is helped by not having any currency differences to deal with amongst most members.^[20] The European Union Association Agreement does something similar for a much larger range of countries, Toshiba Qosmio G40-10E CPU Fan partly as a so-called soft approach ('a carrot instead of a stick') to influence the politics in those countries. The European Union represents all its members at the World Trade Organization (WTO), and acts on behalf of member states in any disputes. When the EU negotiates trade related agreement outside the WTO framework, the subsequent agreement must be approved by each individual EU member. SONY Vaio VGN-CR407E CPU Fan The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the European Union (EU27) in March 2009 was 8.3% compared to 6.7% in March 2008. The Eurozone (EA16) unemployment figure for January 2009 was 8.2% compared to 7.3% in January 2008.^[23] The unemployment rate (EU25) had previously declined in prior years from 8.9% in March 2005 to 8.4% in March 2006 to 7.3% in March 2007.^[24] HP Pavilion dv6-1101au CPU Fan The rate varies widely by member state. There has been a steep upturn in the unemployment rate since 2008 due to the worldwide credit crunch and following recession. The countries within the EU which were most affected were Spain, Ireland and the Baltic countries with the unemployment rate doubling or in case of the Baltic countries nearly tripling. HP Pavilion dv7-3190ev CPU Fan By comparison in March 2009 the United States had an unemployment rate of 8.6% (2008: 5.1; 2007: 4.4; 2006: 4.7) which was higher than the EU-27's unemployment rate but lower than the EU-16 Eurozone rate of 8.9%. Japan's unemployment rate remained comparatively steady at 4.4% (2008: 3.9; 2007: 4.0; 2006: 4.1).^[ HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan The following tables show the current unemployment rate of all Member States for March 2009 with comparisons to March 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005 and comparisons to the United States and Japan: The agricultural sector is supported by subsidies from the European Union in the form of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). HP COMPAQ NX9420 CPU Fan This currently represents 40–50% of the EU's total spending. It used to guarantee a minimum price for farmers in the EU. This is criticised as a form of protectionism, inhibiting trade, and damaging developing countries; one of the most vocal opponents is the UK, the third largest economy within the bloc, HP Mini 110-1110ET CPU Fan which has repeatedly refused to give up the annual UK rebateunless the CAP undergoes significant reform; France, the biggest beneficiary of the CAP and the bloc's second largest economy, is its most vocal proponent. The European Union is a major tourist destination, attracting visitors from outside of the Union and citizens travelling inside it. HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan Internal tourism is made more convenient for the citizens of some EU member states by the Schengen treaty and the Euro. All citizens of the European Union are entitled to travel to any member state without the need of a visa. France is the world's number one tourist destination for international visitors, followed by Spain, HP Pavilion dv6-3163eo CPU Fan Italy and the United Kingdom at 2nd, fifth and sixth spots respectively. It is worth noting however a significant proportion of international visitors to EU countries are from other member states. London, the capital of the United Kingdom is also the world's most visited city and the highest in tourism receipts, before Paris. HP Pavilion dv9740us CPU Fan The European Union's member states are the birthplace of many of the world's largest leading multinational companies, and home to its global headquarters. Among these are distinguished companies ranked first in the world within their industry/sector, like Allianz, which is the largest financial service provider in the world by revenue; ACER Aspire 4743 CPU Fan WPP plc which is the world's largest advertising agency by revenue; Airbus, which is the world's largest aircraft manufacturer;^[28]Air France-KLM, which is the largest airline company in the world in terms of total operating revenues; Amorim, which is the world's largest cork-processing and cork producer company; ArcelorMittal, HP Pavilion dv6-2170us CPU Fan which is the largest steel company in the world; Inditex which is the biggest fashion group in the world; Groupe Danone, which has the world leadership in the dairy products market. Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest beer company in the world; L'Oréal Group, which is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company; Toshiba Satellite L675-S7018 CPU Fan LVMH, which is the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate; Nokia Corporation, which is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile telephones; Royal Dutch Shell, which is one of the largest energy corporations in the world; and Stora Enso, which is the world's largest pulp and paper manufacturer in terms of production capacity, ASUS F80Q CPU Fan in terms of banking and finance the EU has some of the worlds largest notably HSBC and Grupo Santander, the largest bank in Europe in terms of Market Capitalisation. Many other European companies rank among the world's largest companies in terms of turnover, profit, market share, number of employees or other major indicators. ACER TravelMate 4200 CPU Fan A considerable number of EU-based companies are ranked among the worlds' top-ten within their sector of activity. Europe is also home to many prestigious car companies such as Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, BMW group as well as volume manufacturers such as Fiat, PSA group and Renault. HP 434678-001 CPU Fan To date, one of the most commonly used measures of income inequality is the Gini index. The Gini coefficient measures income inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. On this scale 0 represents perfect equality with everyone having exactly the same income and 1 represents perfect inequality with one person having all income. HP G70-120EA CPU Fan According to the UN (UN), Gini index ratings for countries range from 0.247 in Denmark to 0.743 in Namibia. Most post-industrial nations had a Gini coefficient in the range 0.25 to 0.40. In 2005 the Gini index for the EU was estimated at 0.31^[29] and as a comparison the USA had 0.463. Comparing the richest areas of the EU can be a difficult task. Toshiba Satellite A300-034 CPU Fan This is because the NUTS 1 & 2 regions are not homogenous, some of them being very large regions, such as NUTS-1 Hesse (21,100 km²) or NUTS-1 Île-de-France (12,011 km²), whilst other NUTS regions are much smaller, for example NUTS-1 Hamburg(755 km²) or NUTS-1 Greater London (1,580 km²).HP 606609-001 CPU Fan An extreme example is Finland, which is divided for historical reasons into mainland Finland with 5.3 million inhabitants and Åland, an autonomous archipelago with a population of 27,000, or about the population of a small Finnish city. One problem with this data is that some areas, including Greater London, Compaq Presario CQ60-301sl CPU Fan are subject to a large number of commuters coming into the area, thereby artificially inflating the figures. It has the effect of raising GDP but not altering the number of people living in the area, inflating the GDP per capita figure. Similar problems can be produced by a large number of tourists visiting the area. TOSHIBA Satellite L300 CPU Fan The data is used to define regions that are supported with financial aid in programs such as the European Regional Development Fund. The decision to delineate a Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) region is to a large extent arbitrary (i.e. not based on objective and uniform criteria across Europe), and is decided at European level (See also: Regions of the European Union). ASUS Eee PC 701 CPU Fan The 10 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions with the highest GDP per capita are almost all, except two, in the first fifteen member states: Prague and Bratislava are the only ones in the 12 new member states that joined in May 2004 and January 2007.^[31] The leading regions in the ranking of NUTS-2 regional GDP per inhabitant in 2008 were Inner London in the United Kingdom (343% of the average), Compaq Presario CQ60-305sa CPU Fan the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (279%) and Bruxelles/Brussels in Belgium (216%). Figures for these three regions, however, are artificially inflated by the commuters who do not reside in these regions ("Net commuter inflows in these regions push up production to a level that could not be achieved by the resident active population on its own. HP 637607-001 CPU Fan The result is that GDP per inhabitant appears to be overestimated in these regions and underestimated in regions with commuter outflows."^[32]). Another example of artificial inflation is Groningen. The calculated GDP per capita is very high due to the large natural gas reserves in this region. However, Groningen is in fact one of the poorest parts in the Netherlands. HP Pavilion dv7-3067nr CPU Fan Among the 40 NUTS-2 regions exceeding the 125% level, ten were in Germany, five in the Netherlands, four each in Austria and United Kingdom, three each in Spain and Italy, two each in Belgium and Finland, one each in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, France, Slovakia and Sweden, as well as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. HP Pavilion dv5-1210ez CPU Fan The NUTS Regulation lays down a minimum population size of 3 million and a maximum size of 7 million for the average NUTS-1 region, whereas a minimum of 800,000 and a maximum of 3 million for NUTS-2 regions ¹ [23]. This definition, however, is not respected by Eurostat. E.g.: the région of Île-de-France, Compaq Presario CQ50-211nr CPU Fan with 11.6 million inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-2 region, while thestate Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, with only 664,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 region. The twenty lowest regions in the ranking in 2008 were all in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and Hungary, with the lowest figures recorded in Severozapaden in Bulgaria (27% of the average), HP G56-114SA CPU Fan followed by Nord-Est (29%) in Romania, Severen tsentralen in Bulgaria (29%) and Yuzhen tsentralen in Bulgaria (31%). Among the 64 regions below the 75% level, fifteen were in Poland, seven each in the Czech republic and Romania, six each in Bulgaria and Hungary, four each in Italy and Portugal, three each in Greece, SONY Vaio VGN-CR21Z/N CPU Fan France (all overseas departments) and Slovakia, two in the United Kingdom, one in Spain, as well as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The European Union has a budget to pay for policies carried out at European level (such as agriculture, assistance to poorer regions, trans-European networks, research, HP Pavilion dv7-4060eo CPU Fan some overseas development aid) and for its administration, including a parliament,executive branch, and judiciary that are distinct from those of the member states. These arms administer the application of treaties, laws and agreements between the member states and their expenditure on common policies throughout the Union. Some 5% of expenditure is on administration, 95% on policies. Toshiba Satellite M70-252 CPU Fan To pay for this, the EU had an agreed budget of €120.7 billion for the year 2007 and €864.3 billion for the period 2007–2013,^[1]representing 1.10% and 1.05% of the EU-27's GNI forecast for the respective periods. The three core European Union institutions that are officially designated with responsibility for setting a budget are: Toshiba Satellite A100-455 CPU Fan the Council of the European Union, with ministers from each Member State; the European Commission, as the EU's day-to-day executive and administration; and the European Parliament directly elected by citizens. In practice, negotiations tend to be dominated by national interests, which is evident in the Council, where unanimous agreement of all member states is required. HP Pavilion dv5-2112br CPU Fan The annual budget is adopted by a procedure involving a proposal from the European Commission, which must be adopted (usually after amendment) by the European Parliament and the Council. It must remain within ceilings determined in advance by the Multiannual Financial Framework, laid down for a seven-year period by the Council (requiring the unanimous approval of every Member State) with the assent of the Parliament. DELL BFB0505HA CPU Fan The budget for a year is determined in advance, but final calculations of payments required from each member state are not completed until after the budget year is over and information about revenue and expenditure is available. The UK rebate is one of the last elements of the budget to be calculated (though it is estimated in advance) as it depends upon the balance of all EU revenue to and from the UK. HP Pavilion dv6-3299en CPU Fan The European Court of Auditors is the fifth institution of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg to audit the accounts of EU institutions. Despite its name, the court has no judicial functions. It is rather a professional external investigatory audit agency. SONY Vaio VGN-NW11Z/T CPU Fan The primary role of the court is to externally check if the budget of the European Union has been implemented correctly, in that EU funds have been spent legally and with sound management. In doing so, the court checks the paperwork of all persons handling any income or expenditure of the union and carries out spot checks. Toshiba Satellite L550-20W CPU Fan The court is bound to report any problems in the court's reports for the attention of other states and institutions, these reports include its general annual report as well as specific and special reports on certain bodies and issues.^[2] The court's decision is the basis for the European Commission decisions, for example: HP Pavilion dv7-4183sf CPU Fan when the court found problems in the management of EU funds in the regions of England, the commission suspended funds to those regions and prepared to fine those who did not come back up to acceptable standards.^[3] In this role the court has to remain independent yet remain in touch with the other institutions, HP Pavilion dv7-3190ev CPU Fan for example a key role is the presentation of the court's annual report to the European Parliament. It is based on this report that the parliament makes its decision on whether or not to sign off the European Commission's handling of the budget for that year. The court, if satisfied, HP KSB06105HA CPU Fan also sends assurances to the council and parliament that the taxpayers money is being properly used and the court must be consulted before the adoption of any legislation with financial implications but the opinion is never binding. Traditional own resources^[5] are taxes raised on behalf of the EU as a whole, HP G62-244CA CPU Fan principally import duties on goods brought into the EU. These are collected by the state where import occurs and passed on to the EU. States are allowed to keep a proportion of the revenue to cover administration (25%). The European Commission operates a system of inspectors to investigate the collection of these taxes in member states and ensure compliance with the rules. HP Pavilion dv7-3190ei CPU Fan The effect of a state failing to collect these taxes is that other states will have to contribute more to the budget, so there is a potential conflict of interest on the part of the collecting authorities. Countries are liable to make good any loss of revenue due to their own administrative failure. HP G62-244CA CPU Fan VAT based own resources^[5] are taxes on EU citizens derived as a proportion of VAT levied in each member country. VAT rates and exemptions vary in different countries, so a formula is used to create the 'harmonised tax base', upon which the EU charge is levied. The starting point for calculations is the total VAT raised in a country. ASUS A6000R CPU Fan This is then adjusted using a weighted average of VAT rates applying in that country, producing the intermediate tax base. Further adjustments are made where there is a derogation from the VAT directive allowing certain goods to be zero-rated. The tax base is capped, such that it may not be greater than 50% of a country's Gross national income (GNI). HP Pavilion dv7-6011sg CPU Fan The EU applies a call-up rate to the tax base, generally of 0.33%, but this is varied for some countries. For 2007–2013 the rate proposed for Austria is 0.225%, and Germany 0.15%, the Netherlands and Sweden 0.1%. Countries are required to make an account of VAT revenues to the EU before July after the end of the budget year. Toshiba Satellite L300D-01P CPU Fan The EU examines the submission for accuracy, including control visits by officials from the Directorate-General for Budget and Directorate-General for Taxation, and reports back to the country concerned. The country may then respond to any issues raised in the report, and negotiations continue until both sides are satisfied, Compaq Presario CQ60-409CA CPU Fan or the matter may be referred to theEuropean Court of Justice for a final ruling. The Advisory committee on own resources, which has representatives from each member state, also receives and discusses the reports. In 2006, nine countries were inspected by controllers, including 5 new member states who were participating in the procedure for the first time. HP Mini 110-3010sf CPU Fan It is anticipated that 11 countries will be visited in 2007. The EU may be working on figures for three years at any one time.GNI based own resources^[5] currently forms the largest contribution to EU funding. A simple multiplier is applied to the calculated GNI for the country concerned. Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan This is the last recourse for raising funding for a budget year, so the actual figure is adjusted within predetermined limits to obtain the budget total required. Revenue is currently capped at 1.23% of Gross national income in the European Union as a whole.^[6] GNI for own resource purposes is calculated by national accountants according to Toshiba Satellite M70-142 CPU Fan European law governing the sources and methods to compile GNI and the transmission of GNI data and related methodological information to the Commission (Eurostat). Basic information must be provided by the countries concerned toEurostat before 22 September following the budget year concerned. DELL Inspiron E1505 CPU Fan Eurostat carries out information visits to the National Statistical Institutes forming part of the European Statistical System. Based on assessment reports by Eurostat, the Directorate-General for Budget (DG BUDG) of the Commission may notify to the Permanent HP 532613-001 CPU Fan Representative of the Member State concerned required corrections and improvements in the form of reservations on the country's GNI data. Payments are made monthly by member states to the commission. Own resources payments are made monthly as they are collected, but monthly instalments of VAT and GNI based returns are based upon the budget estimates made for that year, subject to later correction. HP Envy 14-1080eo CPU Fan Most of the EU budget is used for agricultural and regional support, while the administration only accounts for 6–7%. In the 2006 budget, the largest single expenditure item was due to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), with its direct aid, export refunds, storage and rural development and support and subsidies, ACER TravelMate 5230 CPU Fan which accounted for around 46.7% of the total budget. By 2013, the share of traditional CAP spending is projected to decrease significantly to 32%.