Expand on the role of the British Economy. Give an assessment of the contribution of the South economic region to the development of the country.

Today Britain is no longer the leading industrial nation of the world, which it was during the last century.

Today Britain is 5th in size of its gross domestic product(GDP).Britain's share in world trade is about 6%, which means that she is also the 5th largest trading nation in the world. Trade with the countries of the European Union, Commonwealth countries.

British economy based on private enterprise. The policy of the government is aimed at encouraging & expanding the private sector. Result: 751 of the economy are controlled by the private sector which employs 3/4of the labour force. Less than 2% of working population is engaged in agriculture. Due to large-scale mechanization productivity in agriculture is very high: it supplies nearly 2/3 of the countries food. The general location of industry: 80%_Of industrial production –England. In Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland level of industry is lower than in England. This gap between England & the outlying regions increased because of the decline of the traditional industries, which are heavily concentrating in Wales, N.Ireland, Scotland.

GB may be divided into 8 economic regions: 1) the South industrial & agricultural region 2}the Midlands 3)Lancashire 4)Yorkshire 5)the North 6)Scotland 7) Wales & Northern Ireland

THE SOUTH ECONOMIC REGION The most: important region in terms of industry & agriculture. Includes: all the South of England, both the South-East & the South-West. London -centre of everything (called the London City Region). Clothing, furniture-making & jewellery. London's industries: electrical engineering, instrument production, radio engineering, aircraft production, the motor-car industry, London -centre of the service industries, tourism.

OXFORD: educational centre; a large motor works were built in its suburb. CAMBRIDGE: its industries connected with electronics & printing. LUTON: major centre of car production. The Thames valley is an area of concentration of electronic engineering/ microelectronics. The South -major agricultural region of GB.

The causes and consequences of the conflicts and divisions in Northern Ireland. The solution of the Northern Ireland issues in 2007. The formation of the Northern Ireland Assembly and of the coalition government in 2007.

The problem of Northern Ireland is closely connected with religion because the Irish people can be divided into 2 religious groups: Catholic and Protestants. At the same time it as clear that the lighting between these 2 groups is closely connected with the colonial past, in 1169 Henry 2 of England started an invasion of Ireland. Although a large part of Ireland came under the control of the invaders, there wasn't much direct control from England during the middle ages. In the 16th century Henry 6 of England quarreled with Rome and declared himself Head of the Anglican Church, which was a protestant church. Ireland remained Catholic, and didn't accept the change. Henry 8 tried to force them to become Anglican. He also punished them by taking most of their land. This policy was continued by Elizabeth I. But the Irish Catholics never gave up their struggle for independence and their rights. At the end of the 18th century there was a mass rising against the English colonizers which was crushed by the English army and in 1801 a forced union was established with Britain. All through the 19th century the «Irish question" remained in the centre of British polities. After a long and bitter struggle the southern part of Ireland finally became a Free State in l921. Ulster where the protestants were in majority remained part of the UK. The Irish Free State declared itself a Republic in 1949 and is known as the Irish republic of Eire. It is completely independent and its capital is Dublin. Northern Ireland had its own Parliament at Stormont in Belfast and government which was responsible for its province’s life. But from the beginning the parliament was in the hands of Protestants while the Catholics didn’t have equal rights with the Protestants. In1969.conflict started between these 2 groups and so the British government closed the local parliament and sent in die British army to keep the peace. But there were no peace. On the Catholic side is the Irish Republic Army which wants to achieve a united relend by terrorism and bombings. On the Protestant side there are also secret terrorist organizations.

The Northern Ireland Assembly of 108 members was restored in 1998. Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held in November 2003.However many difficulties still exist to make this local parliament aworkable body because of the confrontation between the parties representing the Protestant and Catholic communities.

The Northern Ireland Assembly was established as part of the Belfast Agreement and meets in Parliament Buildings. The Assembly is the prime source of authority for all devolved responsibilities and has full legislative and executive authority. Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place on the 7th March 2007 and the Northern Ireland Assembly was restored on the 8^th of May 2007

Give a general assessment of Britain today. The change of government in 2007, its reasons. The main aspects of the policy of the present Government. Britain, Europe and the USA, relations with Belarus, Russia and other post- Soviet States.

Americans seem strangely oblivious to historic developments in Europe these days that could mean a profound change in this country’s relations with Europe as a whole, and with Britain in particular. The process of European integration is reaching a new stage, with not only Economic and Monetary Union but also the beginning of a common security and defense policy. No one seriously questions the wisdom and enlightened statesmanship of the U.S. policy that has supported European integration over many decades. But the contemporary phase of that process is bringing us into uncharted territory. It raises major questions about the future cohesion of the Atlantic Alliance and about the future of the "special relationship" that the United States has long enjoyed with Britain. The Anglo-American tradition embodies a very special conception of political and economic liberty, as well as a certain seriousness about international security and, indeed, about the moral unity of the West. These Anglo-American values as thoroughly vindicated by history and, therefore, worthy of the most vigorous defense.

Since the Eisenhower era, the United States has been urging Britain into Europe, initially to strengthen the resolve of the Europeans as Cold Warriors and more recently out of habit and to be a force for good government in Europe. Today, all polls in Britain show that about 70% of people in the U.K. do not want to go farther into the EU, although about half believe that the country may ultimately do so anyway. EUROPE helped bring down two of Britain’s recent prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and John Major. But at least they were casualties of weighty conflicts over their country’s future in the European Union (EU). On June 4th Gordon Brown may be mortally wounded by nothing grander than election results for the European Parliament.

The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly parts of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values and goals, as outlined in the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism, and world peace. The Commonwealth is not a political union, but an intergovernmental organisation through which countries with diverse social, political, and economic backgrounds are regarded as equal in status. Its activities are carried out through the permanent Commonwealth Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General; biennial Meetings between Commonwealth Heads of Government; and the Commonwealth Foundation, which facilitates activities of non-governmental organisations in the so-called 'Commonwealth Family'. The symbol of this free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II is also the monarch, separately, of sixteen members of the Commonwealth, informally called the Commonwealth realms. As each realm is an independent kingdom, the Queen, as monarch, holds a distinct title for each, though, by a Prime Ministers' Conference in 1952, all include the style Head of the Commonwealth at the end; for example: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Australia and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Beyond the realms, the majority of the members of the Commonwealth have separate heads of state: thirty-two members are republics, and five members have distinct monarchs: the Sultan of Brunei; the King of Lesotho; the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (or King) of Malaysia; the King of Swaziland; and the King of Tonga.

Working with Belarus. The UK is a leading member of the European Union. The 27 current member states of the EU have agreed to work together on issues of common interest, where collective and co-ordinated initiatives can be more effective than individual state action. UK relations with Belarus are conducted within the framework of the EU Common Position towards Belarus.

The UK also enjoys bilateral co-operation with Belarus in a range of areas. Following an intense period of negotiations, the two countries concluded an Agreement on conditions for the recuperation of Belarusian minors in the UK. The Agreement, which came into force on May 22, now makes it possible for British charitable organizations to resume their valuable work.

The British Embassy will be also deploying its unique mobile biometric project to collect biometric fingerprints from children in the regions, saving them a long journey to Minsk. Cordon Braun:

I believe that our ties with America founded on values we share constitute our most important bilateral relationship, and it isgood for Britain, for EU, that the relationships with USA became stronger. Parts of the ED try to isolate Belarus after condemning elections in March. The EU has already imposed a visa ban on 30 officials, recently Western governments pay much attention to the? Of Belarus, practically in each high level meeting of EU it is discussed of May 2007.

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