Deck 15: The European Union

Question 1

The formation of the European Economic Community created a uniform external tariff for non-members that complied with the objectives of GATT.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice have concurrent jurisdiction over EU member international trade disputes with non-EU members.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

By 2010, the United Kingdom and Denmark had finally accepted the use of a single European currency.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Similar to the United States Supreme Court, decisions of the European Court of Justice are issued with the dissenting opinions of the minority ruling judges which are not open to the general public.

Question 5

The Commission of the European Communities v. Italian Republic involved the importation of vegetable fats labeled as "chocolate substitutes."

Question 6

One of the goals of the Single European Act (SEA) was to achieve political integration by 2000.

Question 7

The European Court of Justice consists of 15 justices appointed by the Council of the European Union and has original jurisdiction over private disputes.

Question 8

The signing of the European Economic Community Act officially formed the European Community.

Question 9

The trend for regional economic integration is apparent worldwide.

Question 10

The Commission of the European Communities has the power to draft both regulations and directives and has popular support by European citizens.

Question 11

The Commission of the European Union is headed by the College of Commissioners and consists of twenty members.

Question 12

Members of the European Parliament, which represent the interest of their respective states are elected by residents of each state and are appointed for five-year terms.

Question 13

The EU functions to eliminate barriers to trade by making mergers and acquisitions more difficult.

Question 14

The European General Court was established to reduce the workload of the Court of Justice and it has jurisdiction over appeals on the Commission's decisions on mergers and acquisitions.

Question 15

Similar to courtroom practices in the U.S., the legal proceedings in the European Court of Justice allow for the calling of witnesses, the production of documents, the hiring of experts, cross-examination, and open to the broadcasting media for transmission to the public.

Question 16

Because no dissenting opinions are issued, no ruling is made by the Court of Justice until all judges are in agreement.

Question 17

The Court of Justice is the final arbiter of EU law and consists of 15 justices, each appointed by the assembly for a term of six years.

Question 18

National courts are obligated to follow EU law and decisions.

Question 19

Each member of the Commission serves a four year term and selected from the College of Commissioners.

Question 20

The principles of the Treaty of Rome were based on the creation of a customs union that would remove internal tariffs for members.

Question 21

A _____  i s bindin g an d directl y applicabl e i n al l membe r states ; an d a _____  set s fort h th e resul t t o b e achieve d but leave s t o th e individua l state s th e responsibilit y t o emplo y th e appropriat e steps.

A) regulation; directive
B) rule; resolution
C) resolution; rule
D) directive; regulation

Question 22

In the European Court of Justice:

A) decisions are issued without dissenting opinions.
B) justices are appointed for life.
C) civil law traditions, more than common law traditions, are followed.
D) A, B, and C.
E) A and C only.

Question 23

The European Union is committed to a common foreign policy and individual state sovereignty over economic issues.

Question 24

The EU Commission coordinates the following areas:

A) fisheries.
B) monetary affairs.
C) social policy.
D) A, B, and C.
E) A and B only.

Question 25

The agreement that officially formed the European Community was:

A) The European Economic Community Act.
B) The Treaty of Rome.
C) GATT.
D) Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development.

Question 26

The Treaty of Lisbon provides a mechanism for EU states to leave the EU.

Question 27

The Four Freedoms preempt any action by the member states in the areas of goods, services, capital and people.

Question 28

The representatives who serve on the European Commission are appointed by:

A) the representative's own government.
B) the Assembly.
C) the Court of Justice.
D) the Council.

Question 29

After the passage of the Single European Act, the EU went from qualified voting to the requirement of unanimous consent.

Question 30

The Council of Europe is an EU institution.

Question 31

The Court of First Instance is the equivalent to the U.S. International Trade Court and has original jurisdiction over trade disputes between EU members and non-members.

Question 32

The Maastricht Treaty abolished the Communities and  established the European Union as a successor to the European Community.

Question 33

The Four Freedoms include:

A) capital.
B) people.
C) goods.
D) all of the above.

Question 34

The Treaty of Lisbon included all of the following except :

A) renaming the EEC to the EU.
B) the right for states to withdraw from the EU.
C) a citizen's initiative process.
D) elevation of the European Council to a primary institution within the EU.

Question 35

The Four Freedoms include free movement of goods, services, capital and people.

Question 36

How many representatives is each member country allowed to appoint to the European Union's Council of Ministers?

A) Three
B) Two
C) One
D) None, the members of the presiding council make the appointments

Question 37

The Council of Ministers and the European Council are the same body.

Question 38

All of the following are EU institutions except :

A) The Council of Ministers.
B) The European Council.
C) The European Commission.
D) The Council of Europe.

Question 39

Which of the following is not one of the Parliament's powers?

A) Serve as consultative body (to council) on legislative proposals
B) To censure the commission
C) Elect representatives to the commission
D) All are assembly powers

Question 40

The EU's structure consists of:

A) Council of Ministers.
B) Court of Justice.
C) Parliament.
D) B and C only.
E) A, B, & C.

Question 41

In order to participate in the Monetary Union, Maastricht requires European Union members to achieve all of the following except :

A) a budget deficit of no greater than 3% of the GDP.
B) an inflation rate within 1.5% of the three best nations.
C) exchange rate stability.
D) Maastricht requires all three.

Question 42

The appropriate EU court with original jurisdiction to hear complaints about violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Anti-Torture Convention is the:

A) International Court of Justice.
B) European Court of Justice.
C) International Criminal Court.
D) European Court of Human Rights.

Question 43

Free movement of people in the EU:

A) allows EU residents to travel, live, study and work in other EU member states.
B) is not subject to any limitations whatsoever.
C) still requires border controls between most member states.
D) allows for immigration to the EU that was previously deemed illegal.

Question 44

Prolonged negotiations for membership in the EU constitute an effective veto of membership, as in the case of which country?

A) Latvia
B) Turkey
C) Croatia
D) Pakistan

Question 45

Write a memorandum advocating for or against the entrance of Turkey into the EU.

Question 46

Compare and contrast the European Court of Justice with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Question 47

Which of the following was established by signin g th e Treat y o f Pari s b y th e origina l si x member s o f th e Europea n Communit y ?

A) GATT
B) European Atomic Energy Commission
C) European Coal & Steel Community
D) The Single European Act

Question 48

In what ways are the nations of the European Union similar to and different from the states of the USA?

Question 49

Compare and contrast EU directives with regulations, giving examples of each.

Question 50

In response to the recent financial crisis, the Eurozone states launched a permanent funding program for the rescue of states undergoing financial crisis called the:

A) Eurozone Crisis Act.
B) European Fiscal Compact.
C) European Stability Mechanism.
D) none of the above.

Question 51

Describe the similarities between and among customs unions, free trade areas, and common markets (giving examples of each).

Question 52

The General Court was established to reduce the workload of the European Court of Justice. Its jurisdiction is limited to:

A) appeals of the Commission's decisions on mergers and acquisitions.
B) hearing cases between EU institutions and their employers.
C) appeals related to penalties imposed for Non-European Community companies' price-fixing.
D) all of the above.
E) A and C only.

Question 53

The act that made it easier for the Council to act by requiring only a qualified majority for many types of directives was:

A) Autonomous Council Act.
B) Free Trade Act.
C) Binding Directives Act.
D) Single European Act.

Question 54

Compare and contrast the EU with NAFTA.

Question 55

The allocation of power between the EU and the member states is governed by all of the following except :

A) exclusive competence.
B) shared competence.
C) limited competence.
D) supporting competence.

Question 56

Sinc e 2008 , th e Eurozon e ha s experience d a financia l crisis . Tw o o f th e weakes t economie s tha t were adversely affected in th e entir e Eurozon e are:

A) Germany and Greece.
B) Greece and Turkey.
C) Greece and Spain.
D) Germany and Spain.

Question 57

Compare and contrast the various dispute resolution mechanisms available to an EU member.

Question 58

Which institution is in charge of monetary policy relating to the euro?

A) The European Central Bank
B) The Eurozone Bank
C) The World Trade Organization
D) The International Court of Justice

Question 59

Members of the EU include the following countries except :

A) France.
B) Luxembourg.
C) Italy.
D) Switzerland.
E) All of the above are members.

Question 60

Compare and contrast EU Directives with EU Regulations. Which would the EU as a whole favor? Which would individual countries favor?

Question 61

The German government recently adopted a law defining "beer" as any alcoholic beverage brewed in compliance with customary German brewing practices dating back to the year 1516. These practices mandate specific procedures for every step in the brewing process. Only natural ingredients are to be used in the brewing process. The use of additives is specifically prohibited. As a result, imported alcoholic beverages labeled and sold as "beer" in other states were prohibited from being sold as "beer" in Germany. Instead, such products could only be sold as "malt beverages." The stated purposes of this law were to protect the public from products that contain additives and prevent confusion by German consumers who associate the term "beer" with traditional German brewing standards. The German law was challenged in court by Venezia Brewing Limited (VBL), an Italian company that wished to sell its malt beverage containing additives as "beer" in Germany. VBL claimed that the German law was inconsistent with a European Union regulation that established standards for but did not ban the use of additives in malt beverages. Does the German law violate European Union law, including the regulation? Why or why not? Would your answer be different if the European Union law was in the form of a directive that had not yet been implemented by Germany? Why or why not? Does VBL have standing to challenge the German law? Why or why not?