Deck 4: Parliaments and Electoral Systems

Question 1

Herman Van Rompuy

A) was elected by voters to be president of the European Commission.
B) is a former prime minister of Denmark.
C) was appointed president of the European Council by European leaders.
D) was appointed head of the European Commission by European leaders.
E) is considered a founding father of the EU.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The European Commission is an example of

A) a supranational institution.
B) an inter-governmental institution.
C) a popularly elected body.
D) an EU institution that primarily represents states' interests.
E) a legislative body.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Council of the EU

A) is elected by voters.
B) represents national governments.
C) is purely an advisory body with weak powers.
D) is supranational in its basic orientation.
E) is part of the European Parliament.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which EU institution is responsible for drafting proposals for new rules, laws, and directives?

A) European Commission
B) European Council
C) European Parliament
D) Council of the European Union
E) European Court of Justice

Question 5

The Council of the European Union (also known as Council of Ministers) is best thought of as

A) a supranational body.
B) a bureaucracy.
C) a type of legislative body.
D) a court that ensures EU laws are followed.
E) a weak, purely advisory institution.

Question 6

Under qualified-majority voting (QMV),

A) members states retain a veto on policymaking.
B) all states have an equal vote.
C) legislation must pass with the approval of 75 percent of member-states.
D) legislation passes if the European Parliament approves it by a two-thirds vote.
E) each country receives a number of votes based roughly on population.

Question 7

All of the following are true about qualified-majority voting (QMV) EXCEPT

A) the EU has used it with increasing frequency since the 1980s.
B) it bolsters the supranational aspect of the EU.
C) it will be eliminated in favor of double majority voting under the Lisbon Treaty.
D) larger states are favored because they receive more votes than smaller states on a per person basis.
E) it is used only in the Council of the EU.

Question 8

In the European Parliament, all of the following are true EXCEPT

A) members vote more along national than party or ideological lines.
B) larger countries receive more members than smaller countries.
C) members tend to join blocs based on their political party.
D) members can speak in any one of the EU's 23 official languages.
E) some members of the European Parliament are anti-EU.

Question 9

Co-decision

A) is a procedure involving the European Parliament and the European Commission.
B) will be used more frequently after passage of the Lisbon Treaty.
C) is an example of an EU policy that takes power away from the European Parliament.
D) requires that a two-thirds majority of the European Parliament pass a proposal.
E) is how the European Council participates in policymaking.

Question 10

What is true about elections for the European Parliament (EP)?

A) The EP has been elected by voters since the Treaty of Rome in 1957.
B) Turnout for elections has grown in recent years.
C) The EP is elected by proportional representation.
D) Elections occur in different countries at different times.
E) The Lisbon Treaty will require that elections be held every two years.

Question 11

The European Court of Justice (ECJ)

A) has traditionally slowed down the pace of European integration.
B) has judges that are appointed for life.
C) is an example of a supranational institution.
D) hears only a handful of cases each year.
E) is headquartered in Berlin.

Question 12

All of the following are true about the European Council EXCEPT

A) it tries to reach decisions by consensus.
B) it is an example of an inter-governmental institution.
C) its members are the leaders of European countries.
D) it will be eliminated under the Lisbon Treaty.
E) the Lisbon Treaty changed the nature of its presidency.

Question 13

Subsidiarity suggests

A) that EU member-states have more power than the EU.
B) that the EU has more power than EU member-states
C) that decisions are taken at the closest practical level of governance.
D) that the EU has centralized more and more power.
E) that the EU has expanded its bureaucracy in recent years.

Question 14

Those who say the EU has a "democratic deficit" argue all of the following EXCEPT

A) EU citizens do not identify with the EU.
B) the EU has taken too many powers away from national governments.
C) the European Parliament has been historically weak.
D) too many bodies of the EU are unelected.
E) the EU has admitted too many nondemocratic countries as members.

Question 15

Traditionally, the EU has spent the largest share of its budget on

A) salaries of EU bureaucrats.
B) agricultural subsidies.
C) foreign aid.
D) defense.
E) the environment.

Question 16

One of the strongest advocates of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been

A) Great Britain.
B) France.
C) Germany.
D) the Netherlands.
E) Russia.

Question 17

According to the textbook, the EU has rules on

A) the curvature of bananas.
B) defining what an "English muffin" is.
C) allowable sizes of wine casks.
D) what qualifies as a "pure-bred" dog.
E) the maximum speed limits on roads.

Question 18

The "iron law of oligarchy" suggests that

A) institutions seek to expand their influence and become less democratic over time.
B) institutions become more decentralized over time.
C) institutions surrender power to supranational institutions.
D) institutions tend to get weaker over time.
E) institutions seek to decrease the power of oligarchs.

Question 19

The EU budget in 2006 was approximately

A) €1.1 trillion.
B) €550 billion.
C) €320 billion.
D) €250 billion.
E) €120 billion.

Question 20

The Common Agricultural Policy

A) is widely supported in the EU.
B) opens up European agricultural markets to global competition.
C) was designed to ensure a steady supply of food to consumers and income for farmers.
D) is an increasing part of the EU budget.
E) is one of the main reasons Great Britain decided to join the EU.

Question 21

Net contributors to the EU budget include

A) Poland, France, and Germany.
B) Italy, Spain, and Austria.
C) the Netherlands, Cyprus, and Finland.
D) Germany, Ireland, and Slovakia.
E) Spain, Sweden, and the Czech Republic.

Question 22

Examples of policies that contribute to the common market include all of the following EXCEPT

A) tax harmonization.
B) nondiscrimination of products.
C) mutual recognition of standards.
D) free movement of labor.
E) a common educational curriculum.

Question 23

Examples of integration in Justice and Home Affairs include

A) cooperation to combat human trafficking.
B) cooperation to combat terrorism.
C) mandatory sentencing laws across Europe.
D) the Schengen Agreement.
E) Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Question 24

The Schengen Agreement

A) eliminated border controls among countries who signed it.
B) creates a European-wide police force.
C) regulates trade in services.
D) is Europe's most ambitious environmental agreement.
E) will be eliminated under the Lisbon Treaty.

Question 25

Larger countries have more representatives on the European Commission than smaller countries.

Question 26

The European Court of Justice and the European Commission are good examples of supranational institutions

Question 27

The Lisbon Treaty will introduce double majority voting to the Council of the EU.

Question 28

Average voter turnout in the 2009 elections for the European Parliament was under 50 percent.

Question 29

Over time, the European Parliament has become more powerful within the EU.

Question 30

The Council of the EU is elected every five years.

Question 31

European Regional Development Funds make up less of the EU budget than they did in the 1970s.

Question 32

The EU spends more in its budget each year than the U.S. government.

Question 33

The EU's Common Agricultural Policy is widely praised by countries in the developing world.

Question 34

The European Commission oversees the bureaucracy of the EU.

Question 35

Describe how two EU institutions embody supranationalism and how two EU institutions embody inter-governmentalism.

Question 36

Why do some allege that the EU has a "democratic deficit"? Why have member states resisted moves to make the EU more democratic?

Question 37

How is double majority voting different from qualified-majority voting? Is one simpler or fairer than the other?

Question 38

Some suggest that the EU succeeds because its policies rest on compromises among its various member states. Discuss some of the compromises the EU has made in its various policies in order to win support from its members.

Question 39

If you were in favor of strengthening the EU, what one reform or change do you think would be most useful? Do you see the EU adopting this reform in the near future?