Deck 16: The European Union

Question 1

Which of the following was NOT one of the original six European Community members?

A) France
B) Great Britain
C) Italy
D) Luxembourg
E) Belgium

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What country is the latest to be added to the EU?

A) Malta
B) Poland
C) Bulgaria
D) Croatia
E) Finland

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The EU helps set a common agricultural policy on the grounds that it can do so more effectively than each member state having their own. This is an example of

A) broadening.
B) codecision.
C) multilevel governance.
D) unanimity.
E) subsidiarity.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which country vetoed Britain's application to join the Common Market in 1963?

A) France
B) West Germany
C) Italy
D) Sweden
E) Norway

Question 5

The EU Council of Ministers differs from the EU Commission in that

A) the Council proposes legislation that the Commission presents to the legislature.
B) some Council actions take effect immediately, whereas Commission actions must always be approved by other bodies.
C) the Council of Ministers is only concerned with the specifics of proposed legislation.
D) Council members represent only their own countries.
E) the Council uses a plurality voting system.

Question 6

The initial document creating the European Economic Community in 1957 was the Treaty of

A) Paris.
B) Maastricht.
C) Brussels.
D) Rome.
E) Versailles.

Question 7

The first country to leave the EU almost certainly will be:

A) The United Kingdom
B) France
C) Russia
D) Malta
E) NATO

Question 8

Giving the European Union more powers is called

A) broadening.
B) deepening.
C) expansion.
D) proliferation.
E) expanding national sovereignty.

Question 9

Which of the following was NOT a component of the Maastricht Treaty of 1991?

A) It was formally named the European Union.
B) It called for a normalizing of labor relations between countries. (Britain did not comply.)
C) It endorsed the principle of subsidiarity, in which the EU should act only in those areas in which policy goals cannot be achieved by national governments and are more likely to be reached at the supranational level.
D) It created the single European currency, the euro.
E) It named Jean Monnet as the first president of the European Union.

Question 10

From the original six members in 1957, the European Union has grown to include how many members as of 2013?

A) 28 members
B) 51 members
C) 14 members
D) 20 members
E) 35 members

Question 11

The 1957 treaty that established the European Economic Community also created all of the following European Union institutions EXCEPT the

A) Council of Ministers.
B) European Parliament.
C) Commission.
D) Bank of Europe.
E) European Court of Justice.

Question 12

The first European organization that was a precursor to the European Union was

A) the Euratom.
B) NATO.
C) the Marshall Plan.
D) the ECSC.
E) Entente Cordiale.

Question 13

In January 2002, the European Union countries were more closely tied together by

A) the creation of the peacekeeping military force for use in Afghanistan.
B) the adoption of the Euro as common currency.
C) final agreement on revisions of the Common Agricultural Policy.
D) an agreement to make the Commission superior to the European Council.
E) the first general election of representatives to the European Parliament.

Question 14

On most issues, which of the following describes the voting rules used in the Council?

A) Absolute majority
B) Relative majority
C) Qualified majority
D) National veto
E) Proportional representation

Question 15

The principle that the EU can act if and only if it can do so more effectively than national governments is known as

A) broadening.
B) codecision.
C) multilevel governance.
D) unanimity.
E) subsidiarity.

Question 16

The three active capitals of the European Union are

A) Paris, London, and Madrid.
B) Rome, Maastricht, and Lisbon.
C) Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg.
D) Nice, Berlin, and Moscow.
E) Dublin, Brussels, and Amsterdam.

Question 17

Which of the following was NOT a component of the Single European Act of 1985?

A) It called for the completion of the creation of an internal European market.
B) It produced a sharp cutback in the use of the unanimity principle.
C) It regularized the semiannual meeting of member-state national leaders.
D) It called for increased cooperation in determining foreign and national security policy.
E) It established the single European currency, the euro.

Question 18

What was the importance of the Schengen agreement?

A) It removed most border controls between EU member states.
B) It created the euro as the currency of the EU.
C) It established the office of the President of the EU.
D) It created the constitution of the EU.
E) It created a single military force for the EU.

Question 19

Allowing new members to join the European Union is called

A) broadening.
B) deepening.
C) expansion.
D) proliferation.
E) expanding national sovereignty.

Question 20

The Treaty of Maastricht was signed in

A) 1960.
B) 1971.
C) 1985.
D) 1991.
E) None of the above is true.

Question 21

__________ is the process of bringing new member states into the European Union.

Question 22

The current president of the European Commission is

A) Angela Merkel.
B) Tony Blair.
C) Jose Manuel Barroso.
D) Jacques Santer.
E) Walter Hallstein.

Question 23

Most scholars consider which institution within the European Union to be the weakest?

A) The Commission
B) The Council of Ministers
C) The European Court of Justice
D) The Parliament
E) The Security Council

Question 24

One area where the European Union is much weaker than its component nations is

A) currency control.
B) media coverage.
C) rulemaking.
D) judicial review.
E) number of government officials.

Question 25

The European Court of Justice decides

A) cases in which all parties are voluntary participants.
B) lawsuits by individuals and corporations against the European Union.
C) only cases that have been considered by the European Union or the Commission.
D) cases where national laws are ambiguous or in conflict.
E) when member states' national regulations take precedence over EU regulations.

Question 26

The currency of the European Union is known as the __________.

Question 27

Which European Union country has spent the most in trying to bail out poorer countries during the Eurozone crisis?

A) Germany
B) Denmark
C) Portugal
D) Spain
E) Belgium

Question 28

Among the major European countries, only __________ and __________ have not joined the European Union.

Question 29

The European Commission is most closely related to a country's

A) executive branch.
B) legislative branch.
C) judicial branch.
D) law enforcement agents.
E) military officer corps.

Question 30

The highest priority of the European Central Bank is

A) creating a monetary union.
B) providing a safety outlet for dissent.
C) ensuring fiscal responsibility.
D) controlling inflation.
E) keeping unemployment low.

Question 31

Among the characteristics of a state, the European Union lacks

A) its own currency.
B) a military force.
C) diplomatic recognition by major nation-states.
D) an official language.
E) a distinctive flag.

Question 32

The Council of Ministers consists of

A) one chamber, with combined responsibility for foreign affairs and finance.
B) two chambers: one with national foreign ministers and one with national finance ministers, plus the semiannual meeting of the Executive Council of national executives.
C) two chambers: one for policy making and one to perform judicial review.
D) three chambers: an executive branch, a legislative branch, and a judicial branch.
E) two chambers: one to create policy and one responsible for implementing that policy.

Question 33

Which of the following is TRUE about public attitudes within Europe towards the European Union?

A) It attracts widespread public attention and prompts regular discussions among the people.
B) It has widespread popular support according to most public opinion polls.
C) It has replaced national identity as the primary means of self-identification for most Europeans.
D) There is widespread resentment of the EU, which is viewed as being unaccountable to the average person.
E) Most Europeans are unaware that the European Union exists as a viable entity.

Question 34

In the voting system of the Council, the number of votes given each country is roughly determined by which of the following?

A) Population
B) Wealth
C) The year the country joined the European Community
D) One vote per country
E) State power

Question 35

Members of the European Parliament are selected by

A) their respective national governments.
B) their respective national legislatures.
C) appointment by the Council.
D) appointment by the Commission.
E) direct election by national populations.

Question 36

"Codecision" gives the European parliament the power to

A) adopt laws approved by member states' legislatures.
B) influence opinions of the European Court of Justice.
C) reject or amend actions by the Commission and the Council.
D) consult member states' legislatures before adopting directives (laws).
E) adopt directives by unanimous consent over the opposition of the Commission, the Council, and the European Court of Justice.

Question 37

One of the most important decisions rendered by the European Court of Justice involved

A) the rights to the recorded music of the Beatles.
B) cable television rates.
C) the Olympic Marseilles soccer team.
D) bananas.
E) Cassis de Dijon liqueur.

Question 38

One of the most controversial policies making expansion of the European Union more difficult is the

A) European Court of Justice (ECJ).
B) European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS).
C) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
D) Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER).
E) Common Military Force.

Question 39

Political scientists say that given the power of the European Union, citizens do not have adequate influence on the policy-making process, a concept known as a __________.

Question 40

The Commission is the

A) body that represents the national governments.
B) parliament.
C) de facto executive of the European Union.
D) body that arbitrates disputes among member countries.
E) agency elected by European Union residents.

Question 41

Although the Commission initiates most European Union legislation, its proposals can only become law after they have been passed by the __________.

Question 42

Because the European Union is similar to a state in some ways, and less like a state in other ways, scholars talk about the European Union in terms of its __________ governance.

Question 43

What is the "democratic deficit"? What problems does it pose for the European Union?

Question 44

What impact will Britain's departure or Brexit have on the EU? Why do you reach that conclusion?

Question 45

As the European Union is an entity that exists above the national level of government, it is described as a __________ entity.

Question 46

What challenges has the European Union faced as a result of the recent sovereign debt and migration issues? What possibilities exist for solving these challenges?

Question 47

The __________ voting system is intended to prevent domination of the European Union by either the large countries or a coalition of small countries.

Question 48

One of the most important themes in political life over the last three centuries or more has been the sovereignty of nation-states. What are some of the ways in which the European Union undermines that concept? Be specific.

Question 49

The highest court in the European Union is the European Court of __________.

Question 50

What impact did the Cold War have on the integration of Europe? What role did the United States have in bringing about the eventual creation of the European Union?

Question 51

The Treaty of Lisbon produced a watered-down version of a European Union __________.

Question 52

How did the experience of two world wars in the twentieth century help spur the creation of the European Union and its expansion into Eastern Europe?

Question 53

How is the behavior of political parties in the European Parliament different from the behavior of political parties in Britain or France? What are the ramifications of those differences?

Question 54

Why would countries voluntarily surrender their sovereignty to the European Union? What do member states gain from this? What do they lose? Which countries seem most troubled by this loss of sovereignty? Which are most accepting of it?

Question 55

What are the obstacles to the further deepening and broadening of the European Union? How are those forces likely to evolve in the near future?