A Level Economics: Practice Questions on The European Union

1. What distinguishes the European Union (EU) as a political union? a) The EU has a strong central government with absolute decision-making power. b) The EU aims to create a framework for cooperation among its member states on political matters. c) The EU consists of individual states with complete sovereignty and no shared policies. d) The EU's political institutions are controlled by a single leader elected by member states.

Answer: b) The EU aims to create a framework for cooperation among its member states on political matters.

2. Which of the following is NOT one of the EU's political institutions? a) European Commission b) European Parliament c) European Council d) European Central Bank

Answer: d) European Central Bank

3. How does the decision-making process within the EU often work? a) The EU's political institutions make decisions independently without consulting member states. b) Member states rarely need to negotiate or compromise on issues due to their shared interests. c) Complex negotiations and compromises are common among member states to accommodate diverse interests. d) The EU has a single leader who makes all decisions without the input of member states.

Answer: c) Complex negotiations and compromises are common among member states to accommodate diverse interests.

4. How does the EU's single market promote economic integration? a) It allows member states to close their borders and restrict the movement of goods and services. b) It facilitates the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor among member states. c) It only applies to countries within the Eurozone, allowing them to share a common currency. d) It imposes tariffs and trade barriers between member states to protect local industries.

Answer: b) It facilitates the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labor among member states.

5. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of EU membership related to the economy? a) Access to a large market with over 500 million consumers. b) The adoption of a common currency known as the euro. c) Attracting higher levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) due to regulatory stability. d) Limited control over national monetary policy for Eurozone countries.

Answer: d) Limited control over national monetary policy for Eurozone countries.

6. What is the main advantage of having a common currency (euro) within the Eurozone? a) It allows for easier trade and financial transactions within the Eurozone. b) It eliminates the need for the EU's political institutions to make economic decisions. c) It reduces the economic influence of larger member states within the Eurozone. d) It prevents member states from trading with countries outside the EU.

Answer: a) It allows for easier trade and financial transactions within the Eurozone.

7. Which of the following countries operates as a unitary state with a strong central government? a) The United States b) India c) China d) The European Union

Answer: c) China

8. What is the primary objective of the European Central Bank (ECB) within the Eurozone? a) Maintaining price stability and supporting sustainable economic growth. b) Setting interest rates for individual member states. c) Controlling fiscal policies of member countries. d) Influencing foreign affairs and trade policies.

Answer: a) Maintaining price stability and supporting sustainable economic growth.

9. How does the European Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) impact the Eurozone member countries? a) It sets rules and guidelines for fiscal discipline within the Eurozone. b) It allows member countries to maintain unlimited budget deficits. c) It requires all Eurozone countries to adopt a single fiscal policy. d) It encourages member countries to keep their budget deficits above 3% of GDP.

Answer: a) It sets rules and guidelines for fiscal discipline within the Eurozone.

10. What is one of the challenges of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)? a) Divergent economic structures and levels of development among member states. b) A unified monetary policy that adapts easily to the needs of all member states. c) Limited need for fiscal coordination among member states. d) All member states must adopt the same currency, which limits economic growth.

Answer: a) Divergent economic structures and levels of development among member states.

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Long Answer Questions

1. How does the European Union's political structure differ from that of the United States and China, and how does this affect decision-making processes within the EU?

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3. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of EU membership, considering factors such as economic benefits, loss of sovereignty, and bureaucratic complexities.

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5. Analyze the impact of the Eurozone's common currency, the euro, on economic integration and trade efficiency among member states.

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7. Assess the challenges faced by new prospective members seeking to join the EU, including the adoption of Acquis Communautaire and financial obligations.

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9. Critically examine the benefits and challenges of the continuous expansion of the EU, taking into account the effects on existing member states, new members, and the overall geopolitical landscape in Europe.

Borussia Dortmund boss attacks Premier League's oligarch owners

 

• Chief executive says English game is losing its soul
• Germany's cheap tickets and standing areas show the way

• David Conn in Dortmund
• The Guardian, Sunday 2 December 2012 21.00 GMT

Borussia Dortmund's chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke, says that links between fans and clubs in Germany are now stronger than they are in England. Photograph: Gary Calton for the Guardian

 

The chief executive of Borussia Dortmund, who play Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, has launched a passionate defence of German football principles and attacked English clubs' ownership by rich men from overseas.

Hans-Joachim Watzke described German football as "romantic" for retaining its "50% plus one" rule, which requires Bundesliga clubs to be owned by their members. He questioned the ethos and sustainability of Premier League clubs' ownership, including City being owned and funded by Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi.

Of City, a club he visited for last month's 1-1 draw in the first match between the two, Watzke said: "I am a little bit romantic, and that is not romantic. In England people seem not to be interested in this – at Liverpool they are fine for the club to belong to an American. But the German is romantic: when there is a club, he wants to have the feeling it is my club, not the club of Qatar or Abu Dhabi."

Watzke was a prominent supporter of the 50% plus one rule when it was challenged last year by Martin Kind, the president of Hannover. Dortmund are floated on the stock market, but the members elect the president and four members of the club's supervisory board – and also vote to decide major issues of club policy.

"I was the biggest opponent of changing the rule," Watzke said in an interview with the Guardian at Dortmund's Signal Iduna stadium in the build-up to the City match. "Germans want to have that sense of belonging. When you give [the supporters] the feeling that they are your customers, you have lost. In Germany, we want everybody to feel it is their club, and that is really important."

All 36 Bundesliga clubs are owned or controlled by their members, except the historic exceptions of Wolfsburg, owned by Volkswagen, Bayer Leverkeusen, owned by the pharmacy giant Bayer, and Hoffenheim, which is now funded by a single very wealthy entrepreneur, Dietmar Hopp.

Apart from those three and Kind's Hannover, the remaining 32 voted to keep the 50% plus one rule, which was introduced in 2001 when the Bundesliga clubs broke away to run the league competition independently from the German Football Association, the DFB.

"In former times in England I think the relationship between the club and supporters was very strong," Watzke argued. "Our people come to the stadium like they are going to their family. Here, the supporters say: it's ours, it's my club."

Watzke, himself a lifelong supporter of Dortmund, who drew 1-1 with runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Saturday, linked the system of member-ownership and control to the maintenance of affordable tickets and standing areas at top flight German football.

At Dortmund, the 25,000 fans who form the famous "Yellow Wall" standing area in the Signal Iduna stadium's south stand pay just €190 (£154) for a season ticket for the 17 home Bundesliga matches. Season tickets that also include entry to the first three Champions League group games cost slightly more at €220, working out at exactly €11 for each match.

"Here, it is our way to have cheap tickets, so young people can come," Watzke said. "We would make €5m more a season if we had seats, but there was no question to do it, because it is our culture. In England it is a lot more expensive. Football is more than a business."

Watzke argued that Dortmund, who top the group of City, Real Madrid and Ajax while the English champions cannot qualify for the knockout stages, have been able to compete with such clubs thanks to sensible management, coaching and player recruitment, despite not having the resources of a rich individual such as Sheikh Mansour backing the club.

"Everybody told me you cannot play in the Champions League against clubs like Manchester, they have more money. But we are trying to do it ourselves, in our way.

"There are a lot of ways to Rome," he said. "Chelsea have won the Champions League. But Chelsea's question is: what happens after [Roman] Abramovich?"