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Intergovernmental Organisations

An intergovernmental organization or international governmental organisation (IGO) is an organization composed primarily of sovereign states (referred to as member states), or of other intergovernmental organizations.

Intergovernmental organizations are an important aspect of public international law. IGOs are established by a treaty that acts as a charter creating the group. Treaties are formed when lawful representatives (governments) of several states go through a ratification process, providing the IGO with an international legal personality.

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Intergovernmental organizations differ in function, membership and membership criteria. They have various goals and scopes, often outlined in the treaty or charter. Some IGOs developed to fulfill a need for a neutral forum for debate or negotiation to resolve disputes. Others developed to carry out mutual interests with unified aims to preserve peace through conflict resolution and better international relations, promote international cooperation on matters such as environmental protection, to promote human rights, to promote social development (education, health care), to render humanitarian aid, and to economic development. 

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OCEANNA is particularly specialised in 

  • Worldwide or global organizations - generally open to nations worldwide as long as certain criteria are met. This category includes the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and the Organisation for the prohibition of chemical weapons (OPCW), It also includes globally operating intergovernmental organisations that are not an agency of the UN, including for example the European Space Agency .

  • Regional organizations - open to members from a particular continent region or other specific region of the world. OCEANNA specialises in European Institutions e.g. the Council of Europe (CoE), European Union (EU), European Parliament, European Commission.

Government of The Netherlands

The Netherlands supports local companies in developing countries. The government also stimulates Dutch companies to make their expertise available and contribute with innovative solutions to local development. The Netherlands assist companies to grow, while facilitating better conditions for companies to do business and deliver products to markets in a responsible manner. As such, the Dutch government helps to create jobs and enable people to earn their own living. 

In this respect OCEANNA regularly liaises with multiple ministries, municipalities and  the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO; Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland).

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, also small and medium enterprises) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel numbers fall below certain limits.

The abbreviation "SME" is used in the European Union and by international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Small enterprises outnumber large companies by a wide margin and also employ many more people. SMEs are also said to be responsible for driving innovation and competition in many economic sectors.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined in the EU recommendation 2003/361.

The main factors determining whether an enterprise is an SME are:

  1. staff headcount 

  2. either turnover or balance sheet total.

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For more details:

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What help can SME's get from the European Commission?

There are 2 broad types of potential benefit for an enterprise if it meets the criteria:

  • eligibility for support under many EU business-support programmes targeted specifically at SMEs: research funding, competitiveness and innovation funding and similar national support programmes that could otherwise be banned as unfair government support.

  • fewer requirements or reduced fees for EU administrative compliance.

Multinationals

A company with a quarter or more of its sales in other countries is considered to be a multinational. If multinationals become more important than governments, they can act as major forces of economic change. OCEANNA has extensive experience with multinationals in the field of engineering, technology and R&D. 

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