European microstates

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The European microstates
The European microstates

The European microstates or ministates are a set of very small states in Europe. While Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City, are usually included, Luxembourg and Cyprus share certain features as well.[1] Microstates are small independent states, unlike "Micronations", which are not independent.

Contents

Microstates

Andorra

Flag of Andorra.
Flag of Andorra.
The Principality of Andorra used to be a feudal remnant high in the Pyrenees, a Fiefdom held jointly by the Bishop of Urgell in Spain and the Count of Foix in France, with a population of approximately 89,000. The County of Foix merged into the French Crown in 1607 and thus the King of France and then the President of France took the place of the Count of Foix. Since 1993 Andorra has been a parliamentary democracy. It has been independent since 1278. Catalan is its official language.

Liechtenstein

Flag of Liechtenstein.
Flag of Liechtenstein.
The Principality of Liechtenstein is the sole remaining polity of the Holy Roman Empire, having been created out of the counties of Vaduz and Schellenberg in 1719 as a sovereign fief for the wealthy Austrian House of Liechtenstein. Its population is over 35,000. Owing to its geographic position between Switzerland and Austria, it was not swallowed up during the massive reorganisation of Germany following the French Revolution, and avoided incorporation into the German Empire later in the 19th century.

Malta

Flag of Malta.
Flag of Malta.
The Republic of Malta is an Archipelago of seven islands in the central Mediterranean Sea and has a population of around 410,000 [2], meaning it has a larger population than several non-microstates, notably Iceland which has a population of 319,368 (January 2009 estimate)[3]. People first arrived on Malta about 5200 BC from the nearby island of Sicily.[4] It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1964. Malta is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and a full member of the European Union. Roman Catholicism is the constitutionally protected religion of the islands.

Monaco

Flag of Monaco.
Flag of Monaco.
The Principality of Monaco on the French Riviera, ruled by the House of Grimaldi since the 13th century, achieved full independence only following the cession of the surrounding Nice region from Piedmont to France in 1860.

Monaco is located on the Mediterranean Sea, tucked into the Maritime Alps and has a population of around 35,000. Its constitutional monarchy is led by Prince Albert II. The population is 95% Roman Catholic. French, English, Italian, and Monégasque are the most widely spoken languages. Its economy is based on light manufacturing, banking and financial services, shipping and trade, R&D in biotechnology, marine environments, and tourism.

San Marino

Flag of San Marino.
Flag of San Marino.
The Most Serene Republic of San Marino is the last survivor of a large number of self-governing Italian communes from the Middle Ages. It survived the consolidation of Italy into medium-sized territorial states in the 15th century and the Unification of Italy in the 19th century, largely owing to its remote location in a valley of the Apennines and its decision to offer sanctuary to leaders of the unification movement. It has a population of approximately 30,000.

Vatican City and Holy See

Flag of Vatican City.
Flag of Vatican City.
The State of the Vatican City is the last remnant of the former Papal States, the lands in central Italy ruled directly by the Pope. After the unification of Italy in the 19th century the Papal States had become formally part of the Kingdom of Italy, but the Vatican disputed this claim of geographic authority, and the Papacy continued to exercise de facto political control over an area around St Peter's Basilica[citation needed] in Rome. A sovereign Vatican state was later established by the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Pope and the Italian government, in which the Pope recognised the Italian state in exchange for establishing Roman Catholicism as the state religion, and recognition of the Pope's sovereignty over a tiny state located entirely within the city of Rome. Its population is between 600 and 700.

The Holy See is a unique sovereign entity under international law distinct from Vatican City with the Pope as the head of both, maintaining diplomatic and official relations with over 170 states and entities and participating in various International organizations either in its own capacity or on behalf of Vatican City.

Economic policies and relationship with the European Union

Main article: Microstates and the European Union
The European microstates are all of limited size and population, and have limited natural resources. As a result, they have adopted special economic policies, typically involving low levels of taxation and few restrictions on external financial investment. Malta is a full member of the European Union, while the other five European microstates have obtained special relations with the European Union. Many of the microstates have also entered into a Customs union with their larger neighbours to improve their economic situation (Vatican City and San Marino with Italy, Liechtenstein with Switzerland, and Monaco with France).

Other entities

Dependencies

While the microstates have sovereignty over their own territory, there are also a number of small Autonomous territories, which despite having (in almost all cases) their own independent government, executive branch, legislature, judiciary, police, and other trappings of independence, are nonetheless under the sovereignty of another state or Monarch.

Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a Catholic order that is a sovereign entity under international law and has permanent observer status at the United Nations. Although not having any sovereign territory, Extraterritoriality is granted by Italy to Palazzo Malta and Villa Malta, both located in Rome.

The Order is the direct successor to the medieval Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Malta, and today operates as a largely charitable and ceremonial organization. It is a traditional example of a sovereign entity other than a state. Its headquarters in Rome are granted Extraterritoriality by Italy; its historical headquarters are on Malta, in Fort St Angelo. Unlike the Holy See, which is sovereign over the Vatican City, SMOM has no sovereign territory, yet it does have full diplomatic relations, including embassies, with 100 states[5] and is in more informal relationship with five others. It issues its own stamps, coins, passports, and license plates, and has its own military.

International Committee of the Red Cross

Like the Holy See and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a rare example of a non-governmental sovereign entity. It is the only institution explicitly named under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as a controlling authority. The legal mandate of the ICRC stems from the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, as well as its own Statutes. The ICRC has expanded from its grounding in International law to undertake tasks that are not specifically mandated by law, such as visiting political prisoners outside of conflict and providing relief in natural disasters.

Contrary to popular belief, the ICRC is not a Non-governmental organization in the most common sense of the term, nor is it an inter-state organization, such as the United Nations. Because it limits its membership to Swiss nationals only, and because new members are selected by the Committee itself (a process called Cooptation), it does not have a policy of open and unrestricted membership for individuals like other legally defined NGOs. However, since the early 1990s, the ICRC employs persons from all over the world to serve in its field mission and at headquarters. In 2007, almost half of ICRC staff were non-Swiss. The ICRC has special privileges and legal immunities in many countries, based on national law in these countries, based on agreements between the ICRC and the respective governments, or, in some cases, based on international jurisprudence (such as the right of ICRC delegates not to bear witness in front of international tribunals).

According to Swiss law, the ICRC is defined as a private association. However, the ICRC has enjoyed de facto sovereignty and immunity within the territory of Switzerland for many years. On March 19, 1993, a legal foundation for this status was created by a formal agreement between the Swiss government and the ICRC. This agreement protects the full sanctity of all ICRC property in Switzerland including its headquarters and archive, grants members and staff legal immunity, exempts the ICRC from all taxes and fees, guarantees the protected and duty-free transfer of goods, services, and money, provides the ICRC with secure communication privileges at the same level as foreign embassies, and simplifies Committee travel in and out of Switzerland.

Historical small territories

The wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars caused the European map to be redrawn several times. A number of short-lived client republics were created, and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire gave sovereignty to each of its many surviving component states. The situation was not stabilized until after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Following World War I and World War II a number of territories gained temporary status as international zones, protectorates or occupied territories. A few of them are mentioned here:

Popular culture

A 1955 novel called The Mouse That Roared by Irish American writer Leonard Wibberley features an imaginary European microstate called the Duchy of Grand Fenwick. The novel was later adapted to a play and film.

See also

References

  1. ^ Eccardt, Thomas M. 2005. Secrets of the Seven Smallest States of Europe
  2. ^ http://www.nso.gov.mt/statdoc/document_file.aspx?id=2326
  3. ^ Statistics Iceland
  4. ^ http://www.islandofgozo.org/history.htm
  5. ^ The Order's official website lists them in this table.
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