ASEAN

The ASEAN is making itself stronger than other organizations, having with great and significant history of emerging; ASEAN has been recognized as one the strongest union of nations.

The European Union (EU) is doing a great deal of work in uniting the European continent. It has recently (after many years of negotiations) introduced a common currency; the Euro. Also, the emergence of the Schengen countries will have a major impact on tourism.

EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

The European Union (EU) is a family of democratic European countries, committed to working together for peace and prosperity.

Now the EU embraces 25 countries and 450 million people, and it deals with a wide range of issues of direct importance for our everyday life.

The European flag has 12 stars in a circle symbolize the ideas of perfection, completeness and unity.

The European Anthem comes from the Ninth Symphony by Beethoven. When this tune is used as the European anthem, it has no words.

European Day is May 9. The ideas behind what is now the European Union were first put forward on May 9, 1950 in a speech by the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman. So 9 May is celebrated each year as the EU’s birthday.

“United in Diversity” is the motto of the EU

EU members and the date of their acceptance to the Union

1952 Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands
1973 Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom
1981 Greece
1986 Portugal, Spain
1995 Austria, Finland, Sweden
2004 Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,

Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia

Time Line of the Introduction of EURO as the Official Currency of the Union

June 1997 – European Union legislation establishes the Euro as a currency

- An exchange rate mechanism is developed

- A blueprint on future monetary policies is developed.

1998 - A decision is made on participating member states.

- The European Central Bank is created

- Production of Euro banknotes and coins commences.

Jan. 1999 - Conversion rates are irrevocably fixed and various legislations come into force including the legal status of the Euro.

- Foreign exchange operations started using the Euro.

- Changeover to the Euro is made by the banking and finance industry.

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Jan. 2002 - Assistance will be given to effect an orderly changeover of hard currency.

- Circulation of Euro banknotes and coins commence.

July 2002 - The legal tender status of national banknotes and coins was cancelled. The Euro is the only legal tender.

SCHENGEN COUNTRIES

“Schengenland” is not a new member of the European Union, but an area of free circulation within the Union created by seven signatories to the Schengen Agreement – Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain. The Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985 in the village of Schengen, on the borders of Luxembourg, France and Germany.

Full implementation of the Schengen Treaty began in July 1995 with the removal of internal border controls between six of the seven Schengen Member States, opening an era of genuine free travel for millions of people. The benefits to air travelers have been swiftly apparent now that they can move within “Schengenland” without customs or passport checks. Italy (1990) and Greece (1992) have also signed, but have still to complete the physical preparations needed for the strengthening of security controls at external borders. Austria signed on April 28, 1995. Swede, Finland and Denmark were members by the end of 2000, while Iceland and Norway – neither members of EU – will enjoy an associate status. This will enable these countries to maintain the Nordic Passport Union which allows their citizens to move freely across their borders.

Passengers flying between the seven countries are now leaving from domestic rather than international airport terminals, and without identity checks.

Scandinavian and Benelux Countries

In the Travel Industry, it is common to hear the terms “Scandinavian” and Benelux”. This is not a political subdivision but to refer to countries that are related to each other based on their geographical locations.

Scandinavian countries include the Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Benelux countries consist of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN)

Most of the countries of Southeast Asia have formed an alliance called ASEAN: Association of South-East Asian Nations.

Establishment and Membership

ASEAN was originally formed out of an organization called Maphilindo, essentially an alliance consisting of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the early 1960’s. As such, Maphilindo is considered the predecessor to ASEAN.

ASEAN itself was established on August 8, 1967, when foreign ministers of five countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand met at the Thai Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok and signed the ASEAN Declaration (also known as the Bangkok Declaration). The five foreign ministers, considered the organization’s Founding Fathers, were Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand. The founding fathers envisaged that the organization will eventually encompass all countries in Southeast Asia.

Brunei Darussalam became the sixth member of the ASEAN when it joined on January 7, 1984, barely a week after the country became independent on January 1. It would be a further 11 years before ASEAN expanded from its core six members. Vietnam became the seventh member in 1995, and Laos and Myanmar joined two years later in July 1997. Vietnam would become the first Communist member of ASEAN. Cambodia was to have joined the ASEAN together with Laos and Myanmar, but was deferred due to the country’s internal political struggle. Cambodia later joined on April 30, 1999, following the stabilization of its government. Thus was completed the ASEAN – 10 – the organization of all countries in Southeast Asia.

Objectives of ASEAN:

The ASEAN Declaration states that the aims and purposes of the Association are:

1. to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations, and

2. to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nation Charter.

In 1995, the ASEAN Heads of States and Government re-affirmed the “Cooperative peace and shared prosperity shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN.”

International Air Transport Associations (IATA)

IATA - The International Air Transport Association - was founded in Havana, Cuba, in April 1945. It is the prime vehicle for inter-airline cooperation in promoting safe, reliable, secure and economical air services - for the benefit of the world's consumers. The international scheduled air transport industry is now more than 100 times larger than it was in 1945. Few industries can match the dynamism of that growth, which would have been much less spectacular without the standards, practices and procedures developed within IATA.

At its founding, IATA had 57 Members from 31 nations, mostly in Europe and North America. Today it has over 270 Members from more than 140 nations in every part of the globe.

The modern IATA is the successor to the International Air Traffic Association founded in The Hague in 1919 - the year of the world’s first international scheduled services.

IATA's aims than had existed before 1939.

· To promote safe, regular and economical air transport for the benefit of the peoples of the world, to foster air commerce, and to study the problems connected therewith;

· To provide means for collaboration among the air transport enterprises engaged directly or indirectly in international air transport service;

· To cooperate with the newly created International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO - the specialized United Nations agency for civil aviation) and other international organizations.

The first worldwide Traffic Conference was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1947. It reached unanimous agreement on nearly 400 resolutions covering all aspects of air travel. Fare construction rules for multi-sector trips, revenue allocation - pro-rating - rules, baggage allowances, ticket and air waybill design and agency appointment procedures were typical details agreed at this pioneering meeting.

Today, that pioneering work is reflected in the currently applicable IATA Resolutions dealing with these and many other subjects. Notable examples are:

· The Multilateral Interline Traffic Agreements: These are the basis for the airlines' interline network. Close to 300 airlines have signed them, accepting each others' tickets and air waybills - and thus their passenger and cargo traffic - on a reciprocal basis.

· Passenger and Cargo Services Conference Resolutions: These prescribe a variety of standard formats and technical specifications for tickets and air waybills.

· Passenger and Cargo Agency Agreements & Sales Agency Rules:

These govern the relationships between IATA Member airlines and their accredited agents with regard to passenger and cargo.

Debt Settlement between airlines, largely arising from interlining, takes place through the Clearing House, which began operations in January 1947. During its first year, 17 airlines cleared (US) $26 million. By 1994, the Clearing House had 380 participants including non-airlines. The total cleared was (US) $22.8 billion. Typically, almost 90 percent of debts between participants are offset and there is no need for cash transfers. International air transport grew at double-digit rates from its earliest post-1945 days until the first oil crisis in 1973. Much of the impetus for this growth came from technical innovation. The introduction of turbo-propeller aircraft in the early 1950s, transatlantic jets in 1958, wide-bodied aircraft and high by-pass engines in 1970 and later, advanced avionics were the main innovations. They brought higher speeds, greater size, and better unit cost control and, as a result, lower real fares and rates. Combined with increased real incomes and more leisure time, the effect was an explosion in demand for air travel.

Increased demand for air travel led to increased activity for IATA. Technical work evolved into seven broad areas. Avionics and Telecommunications included the vital air navigation function; Engineering and Environment developed IATA policy on aircraft noise and other emissions; Airports defined airline requirements for airport terminals; Flight Operations worked on safety factors such as minimum aircraft separation standards and air routings; Medical monitored health standards for flight crews and facilitated air travel for disabled passengers; Facilitation attempted to speed the flow of people and goods through airports - particularly, customs and immigration; Security worked on measures to safeguard passengers and cargo by preventing hijacking and sabotage and on minimizing fraud and theft of tickets.

Automation became commonplace in airline operations during the 1960s. Standardization in its use was less commonplace and IATA began its involvement in perfecting standard message formats for inter-company data exchange, which continues to this day.

Unit Load Devices, or ULDs - principally, containers - allow rapid, economical cargo handling. IATA Members developed the technical specifications for containers and created a ULD control centre, to keep track of their movements. Until 1955, there was a complete embargo on the air transport of toxic, flammable or corrosive materials. Then IATA developed Dangerous Goods Regulations for their safe carriage - a business worth more than (US) $500 million a year. A decade later, Live Animals Regulations provided for suitable standards for the in-flight welfare of animals.

Eventually, IATA was re-organized on a two-tier basis in October 1979. The tiers comprised:

· Trade Association (technical, legal, financial, traffic services and most agency matters)

· Tariff Coordination (passenger fares, cargo rates, and related conditions and charges)

At present, some 100 Members, including the world's largest airlines, continue to participate in Tariff Coordination.