Agenda 21
an agenda for the 21st century to implement sustainable development as expressed in a 40 chapter and 400 page long negotiated document from the Rio UNCED conference
Amendments
additions to a legal text such as a treaty or a convention
Amsterdam Treaty
the European Union treaty signed in Amsterdam in 1997
Baltic 21
an Agenda 21 for the Baltic Sea Region, officially launched by the Ministers of Environment at their informal meeting in Saltsjöbaden, Sweden, 20-21 October 1996; the Saltsjöbaden Declaration provides the basis for the Baltic 21 set-up and process
Bretton Woods Institutions
the World Bank, WB, and the International Monetary Fund, IMF; named after the town in the United States
in which, immediately after the Second World War, financial mechanisms were created to further economic
development and rebuild after war damage
The Brundtland Commission
also called the World Commission on Environment and Development, or the Brundtland Commission; an independent Commission of eminent persons established by the UN General Assembly under the chairmanship of the then Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland; the conclusions of the Brundland Commission, published in 1987, introduced the concept of sustainable development on a systematic basis
Commission on Sustainable Development
commission established by the UN under the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to oversee the implementation of Agenda 21
Conference of the Parties, COP
conferences of parties to global conventions to oversee that the objectives of the convention are met and further the development of the agreement, e.g. with protocols
Convention
legally binding agreement, containing commitments by nation states, which make part of international law, and regulated by the so-called 1969 Vienna Convention; today more than 200 global conventions are in place
Council of Ministers
the highest decision making body of the European Union, consisting of the Ministers of the participating governments
Declaration
policy statement that indicates a will to pursue a specific described policy
Directive
the most common type of EU legislation, being binding for each member state, as to the result to be achieved, referred to by official numbers, for instance 70/220/EEC, in which the first number refers to the year in which the directive was adopted, the second number is a serial number, and the addition "EEC" indicates that the directive was legally based on an EEC Treaty
European Commission
the executive organ of the European Union, with its site in Brussels, headed by a Secretary General and with some 20 Commissioners each head of a Directorate-General, DG
European Council
the meetings of the Heads of State and governments of the European Union member states, taking place at least twice a year
European Parliament, EP
democratically elected assembly of the European Union, with some 600 members from the 15 member states, which meets in Strasbourg
Helsinki Commission, HELCOM
the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission, the Helsinki Commission or, in short, HELCOM, established to oversee the Helsinki Convention
Helsinki Convention
convention signed on 22 March 1974 in Helsinki, Finland by the then all seven Baltic Sea states, on the invitation of the government of Finland, for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea area
International Union of Conservation of Nature, IUCN
Organisation founded in 1948 with several hundred states, governmental agencies and non-governmental scientific and conservation organisations among its members, to safeguard biodiversity and nature protection, promoting the development of international law and policy, and monitoring biodiversity, with headquarter in Gant, outside Geneva in Switzerland
Kyoto Protocol
agreement from December 1997 on the climate issues negotiated by the third Conference of Parties of the Framework Convention on Climate change, named after the Japanese city where the Conference was held; the Kyoto Protocol with later developments form the basis for present actions to combat climate change.
Lnder
composite "states" within the Federal States of Germany and Austria
Maastricht Treaty
the European Union treaty or convention agreed in 1991 to serve as the fundamental document of the Union.
PHARE
programme in the European Union which supports the development of the countries of central Europe and aims at facilitating their future membership to the European Union, for instance through support to the adaptation of national environmental legislation
Programme
a policy instrument within the EU and UN systems, including plans and proposals in a policy area
TACIS
programme in the European Union for the countries in the former Soviet Union with the exception of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, for example Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, to support economic and other development
Treaty of the European Union
the constitution of the Union, first written for the six founding members in Rome in 1957, and later amended and rewritten in the Single European Act from 1985, in Maastricht in 1991, and in Amsterdam in 1997
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED
the UN conference in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, also called the Earth Summit, where 174 states agreed on five documents, the Rio documents, including the Rio Declaration and the Agenda 21