CAST

Question 1

What is the difference between A-points and B-points in the Council?

Answer 1

A points = No discussion / B-points = discussion

Question 2

After whom is the Freedom of Thought Prize named?

Answer 2

Sakharov

Question 3

Who was the first winner of the Freedom of Thought prize?

Answer 3

Nelson Mandela

Question 4

When was the Freedom of Thought Prize by the EP awarded the first time?

Answer 4

1988

Question 5

How many people lived in the EU on 1 January 2019?

Answer 5

510, UK left officially 31 January 2020.

Question 6

Which countries participate in the Civil Protection Mechanism?

Answer 6

EU 27MS + Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, & Turkey (no Israel)

Question 7

What is ESPAS?

Answer 7

European Strategy and Policy Analysis System

Question 8

Which organization was founded first in the second half of 20th century?

Answer 8

OAU Organisation of African Unity - 1963
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations - 1967
GCC Gulf Cooperation Council - 1981
Mercosur - 1991
African Union - 1999

Question 9

What is true about EU Fundamental Rights?

Answer 9

All MS need to establish an organization (or similar) that checks for discriminations, conducts surveys and independent reports.

Question 10

Which treaty introduced the principle of subsidiarity?

Answer 10

Treaty of Maastricht

Question 11

What was the target of the 2018 Renewable Energy Directive?

Answer 11

At least 32% renewable energy consumption until 2030
Increased to 40% in 2022

Question 12

How many members does the Eurozone have in 2019?

Answer 12

19

Question 13

How many members does the Eurozone have in 2023?

Answer 13

20 - Croatia joined in 2023

Question 14

What is NOT a right of EU citizens?

Answer 14

To stand as a candidate for national elections in another MS.

Question 15

Which countries are part of G5 Sahel?

Answer 15

Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad

Question 16

Who leads the Operation Atalanta (formally European Union Naval Force Somalia)?

Answer 16

It is led by the EU, NOT by NATO.

Question 17

What is the objective of the Union?

Answer 17

Art 2(1) TEU: “The Union’s aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples.”

Question 18

Who was NOT a president of the EP?

Answer 18

Jacques Delors

Question 19

2020 Eurobarometer polls about climate change

Answer 19

93% climate change is a serious problem;
94% environmental protection is important;
83% EU legislation is necessary to protect the environment.

Question 20

What was the budgetary split of CAP (common agricultural policy) in 2019?

Answer 20

€41m to income support; €14m to rural development; €2.37m to market measure

Question 21

Which countries are members of MERCOSUR?

Answer 21

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay.

• Venezuela, which officially joined 2012, was suspended from membership in 2017.

Associate countries (not members per se): Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Suriname. New Zealand and Mexico are observers.

Question 22

Which was not an element of the Juncker plan?

Answer 22

Quantitative easing (QE) is an advanced monetary policy of central banks to stimulate growth in a stagnant economy by large scale buying of government bonds and other assets.

Question 23

How many countries participated in the 2002 Euro when the banknotes and coins changeover took place?

Answer 23

12 EU countries

Question 24

Early Warning System

Answer 24

The Early Warning System (EWS) is an internal information tool that helps the European Commission and its executive agencies to identify third parties that pose financial and/or other risks. Part of this tool, a Central Exclusion Database is accessible by all public authorities that implement EU funds. The database includes all entities — companies, organisations or natural persons — which have been excluded from EU funding because they are insolvent, have been convicted of serious professional misconduct or criminal offence against the EU’s financial interests. Such a blacklist allows authorities to identify risky entities and take the appropriate precautionary measures, such as not entering into a contract with a particular service provider. This helps to ensure the sound financial management of European Union funds and to prevent fraud.

Question 25

What happens if EP does not consent to an international agreement?

Answer 25

The agreement cannot be adopted.

Question 26

According to Article 5 TEU, what are the key guiding principles of Union competences?

Answer 26

Subsidiarity, conferral and proportionality principles

Question 27

What is the EU Blue Card?

Answer 27

The EU Blue Card gives highly qualified workers from outside the EU the right to live and work in an EU country, provided they have higher professional qualifications, such as a university degree, and an employment contract or a binding job offer with a high salary compared to the average in the EU country where the job is.

Question 28

What is the New Development Bank?

Answer 28

Multilateral development bank of the BRICS countries.

Question 29

What does JCPoA stand for?

Answer 29

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action aka the Iran Nuclear Deal - P5+1, agreement reached in Vienna (China, EU, Russia, Iran, France, Germany, UK, US who left)

Question 30

What is the maximum/minimum number of MEPs per country according to the Treaties?

Answer 30

Maximum 96
Minimum: 6

Question 31

What is the Bretton Woods system?

Answer 31

“A multilateral agreement on international cooperation on monetary policy”
(A new international monetary system was forged by delegates from forty-four nations in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944. Those at Bretton Woods envisioned an international monetary system that would ensure exchange rate stability, prevent competitive devaluations, and promote economic growth. Delegates to the conference agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development – the latter now known as the World Bank Group. The system of currency convertibility that emerged from Bretton Woods lasted until 1971. The United States could no longer fulfill its obligation to redeem dollars for gold at the official price. In 1971, President Richard Nixon ended the dollar’s convertibility to gold)

Question 32

Who adopts the country-specific recommendations of the European Semester?

Answer 32

The Council

Question 33

If not otherwise established in the Treaties, the European Council decides by?

Answer 33

Unanimity

Question 34

What is true about the Monroe Doctrine of 1823?

Answer 34

The Monroe Doctrine was a United States foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It held that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers was a potentially hostile act against the U.S.[1 The doctrine was central to U.S. foreign policy for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries.[2]
It aimed to prevent European powers from extending their influence in the Western hemisphere.

Question 35

37. Who is the EU external border agency?