the eu Flashcards
1
Q
how many countries are there in the eu?
A
27
2
Q
when did the UK join the eu?
A
1973
3
Q
when was the eec and eurotom set up?
A
- 1958
4
Q
when is the maastricht treaty and what is it?
A
- 1992
- eu set up
5
Q
what are the six fundamental rights of the eu?
A
- dignity
- freedoms
- equality
- justice
- citizens rights
- solidarity
6
Q
what are the five institutions of the eu?
A
- eu council (meets every 6 months)
- council of ministers
- european commission
- european parliament
- court of justice
7
Q
what and when was the treaty of paris?
A
- 1951
- established european coal and steel community
- leading to a common market in coal and steel
- high authority established to ensure price transparency and monitor compliance with competition rules
- only involved the first 6 countries in the eu
8
Q
what were the 6 first countries involved with the eu?
A
- france
- italy
- luxembourg
- belgium
- netherlands
- germany
9
Q
when and what was the treaty of rome?
A
- 1957
- established eec
- widened common market
10
Q
when was the first round of enlargement and who was involved?
A
- 1973
- denmark, ireland, uk join
- greece, spain and portugal joined subsequently
11
Q
when and what was the single european act?
A
- 1986
- created the single european market
- qualified majority voting introduced
12
Q
what and when was the schengen agreement?
A
- 1985
- removed internal border controls
- uk and ireland opted out
13
Q
maastrich treaty
A
- 1992
- created eu
- timetable for economic and monetary union
- increased cooperation between member states in foreign and security policy
14
Q
enlargement round 2
A
- 1995
- austria, finland and sweden
15
Q
amsterdam treaty
A
- 1997
- role of eu expanded to immigration and security
- amended parts of treaty of rome
16
Q
eurozone creation
A
- 1999
- 11 countries adapted into the euro
- monetary policy in the hands of european central bank
- four countries didn’t join eurozone (UK)
17
Q
nice treaty
A
- 2001
- european security and defence policy
18
Q
enlargement round 3
A
- 2004
- mainly eastern european countries that gained independence after the cold war
19
Q
lisbon treaty
A
- 2007
- reformed eu institutions
- qualified majority voting extended to over 45 policy areas
- created president of european council
20
Q
brexit
A
- 2016
- 52% to 48%
- norway rejecting joining 1972
21
Q
successes of promoting peace, values of eu and wellbeing of its citizens
A
- member nations have not fought since ww2
- emphasis on rule of law and democracy across all states
- rise in living standards and economic growth generally shared
22
Q
failures of promoting peace, values of eu and wellbeing of its citizens
A
- increase in threat from other nations (russia and middle east)
- growing number of anti-eu populist parties (brexit)
- criticism for having a democratic deficit
23
Q
successes in freedom, security and justice without internal borders
A
- single market allows for the four freedoms to apply
- 22/27 member states are in the schengen area
- work together on policing and anti-terrorism
24
Q
failures in freedom, security and justice without internal borders
A
- 5 not in schengen area (republic of ireland)
- those in schengen area can impose emergency border checks
- since 2015 immigration crisis soem reintroduced border controls (austria and denmark)
25
successes in balanced economic growth
- eu led to development of competitive economies
- eu environmental regulations generally stricter
26
failures in balanced economic growth
- 2008 economic crisis damaged eu nations
- unemployment risen in some member states
- covid restrictions further economically hit member states
- crisis worsened by wars in ukraine and israel
27
successes in combatting social exclusion and discrimination
- eu law protects individual human rights
- citizens of eu have freedoms of movement and cannot be discriminated against
28
failures in combatting social exclusion and discrimination
- migration crisis exposed prejudice by some member states (e.g. attacks on refugee housing)
- may 2018 right wing hungarian government introduced legislation restricting help for refugees
- brexit was a reaction against immigration
29
successes in scientific and technological progress
- european research area encourages sharing of scientific knowledge, research and skills
- billions of euros spent on science and technology
- european research councils investments have led to breakthroughs in
30
failures in scientific and technological progress
- eu states invest less than us and china
- usa more effective at turning research into new tech and world leading businesses (google)
31
successes in economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity among member counties
- pooling sovereignty
- eu second largest economy
- single market largest in the world
- eu protects workers rights
- eu provides billions to less economically developed regions (eg. provided to wales before brexit to reduce disparities)
32
failures in economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity among member counties
- strong anti-eu voices in countries like france (marine le pen)
- eu single market criticised for over-regulating small businesses
- socioeconomic inequality growing in eu
33
successes in respecting its rich cultural and linguistic diversity
- eu has 24 official languages, provides funding for language learning
- every year, two eu cities are selected as european capitals of culture
34
failures in respecting its rich cultural and linguistic diversity
- eu criticised for expenditure on translation services
- eus goal that every citizen should speak two languages in addition to their mother tongue only been achieved by 22% in 2022
- denmark and france have introduced bans on face coverings by some muslim women
35
successes of establishing economic and monetary union whos currency is the euro
- 19 states in the eurozone
- euro second most traded currency after the dollar
36
failures of economic and monetary union who’s currency is the euro
- eus second largest economy (uk) chose not to join the euro
- 2008 economic crisis exposed problems caused by very different economies sharing the same currency
37
functions of eu commission
- proposes new laws
- ensures implementation of eu law
- executive powers
38
what is the eu commission
- commissioner for each member state
- who are appointed by european council and approved by ep
- they hold 5 year terms
39
what is the council of the eu
- sectional councils dealing with specific areas
- share legislative power with european parliament
- each member state takes it in turn to provide the president of the council for a six month rotation
40
functions of council of the eu
- principle law making body of the eu
- negotiators and approves laws proposed by commission
41
how does the council of the eu vote on law?
- double majority:
- 55% member states (15/27) vote in favour
- approved by member states representing at least 65% total EU population
42
function of the european council
- sets the agenda for the eu
- provides strategic direction of eu
- does not have legislative powers
43
details of european parliament
- mps elected every 5 years through party list
- number of meps dependent on population (germany = 96, malta = 6)
- 705 meps
- not grouped by country, but by party
44
functions of european parliament
- meet once a month for a week
- in the meantime, stands on different committees to discuss proposals made by european commission
45
what happens in the eu committees?
- co-legislate (vetoing and amending), but no proposal of legislation
- approval annual budget
- confirm appointment of commissioners proposed by member states
- decide on international agreements
- whether to approve a new member state or not
46
what is the ecj?
- european court of justice
- sits in luxembourg, has 27 judges (one from each member state)
47
how does the ecj appoint judges?
- highest judical post in their country or leading academic lawyers
- appointed for 6 years, then can serve an additional 6
- assisted by 11 advocates, each is assigned to a case
48
functions of the ecj
- ultimate source of legal authority
- they do this by: hearing cases and preliminary rulings
49
four freedoms of the single market
- goods
- services
- people
- capital
50
what does the four freedoms allow?
- allows eu citizens to live and work across the eu
- gives consumers a wider choice of high quality goods
- stimulates trade
- fuels growth
- creates a domestic market of 449m consumers
51
what is the single market key for in the future?
- success for eu greens and digital transitions
- driver of eu competitiveness, growth and recovery from covid
52
impact of eu on uk constitution, sovereignty and referenda
- when a member, uk law could not conflict with eu law
- eu legislation took precedence meaning farming and fishing quotas were restricted
- 2016 referendum conflict between MPs
53
impact of eu on government and parliament
- all legislation had to align with eu law
- harder for governments to bail out of struggling industries as eu approval needed to ensure competition rules were being adhered to
- if uk agreed to schengen area there would have been a larger impact on policy making (eg bank of england wouldn’t have been able to set its own interest rates)
- still had control over health and education
54
impact of eu on judiciary
- uk judges had to give precedent to eu law when making judgments
- e.g. 1990 factortame case (eu and uk law around fishing overlapping)
55
impact of eu on political parties
- 1970s labour divisions over eu
- 1980s tory divisions over eu
- scottish and welsh nationalists became unified over pro-eu stance. lib dem also embraced pro-eu stance
- e.g. sep 2019 tories got whip removed and voted to stop no-deal brexit
56
examples of benefits of brexit
- uk fishers can fish more freely
- car industries benefitted
- snp used it as a tool to unite for independence
- some car industries were able to relocate pre-brexit to eastern europe
- brexiteers got sovereignty
57
examples of loosers from brexit
- dutch unable to fish in uk waters
- british buy cod and much other fish from eu, therefore put out of business
- scottish who wanted independence now out of eu too
- anguilla affected and didn’t get the vote (as trade with french country in carribean)
- eu public cannot move as easily cannot move to uk anymore
58
impact of eu on uk economy
- somewhat protected by eurozone in 2008
- uk received £1bn for less developed countries like wales
- uk net contributer to eu, paid more than gets out
59
impact of eu on uk agriculture
- cap (common agricultural policy) subsides for all eu farmers
- cap promoted mass production - harming environment
60
impact of eu on uk fisheries
- cfp (common fisheries policy) prevented uk protecting from fishing industry from competition as all eu fishers have access to british waters
- environmental impact to this /
61
impact of eu on uk environment
- eu law over uk law meant more implementation of environmental laws
- even though cap and cfp have been criticised for their environmental impact
62
impact of eu on uk social policy
- led to increase of rights in the uk (paid holidays)
- eu law promote gender equality and have a bigger impact on uk policy (shared parental leave, maternity discrimination)
63
impact of eu on uk policing and security
- allowed uk to develop a coordinated security strategy with other members
- membership of europol and use of european arrest warrant
- kept this
64
impact of eu on uk immigration
- opting out of freedom of movement (schengen area) restricts immigration
- freedom of movement allows employers to fill specialist positions
- brexit in theory should allow the united kingdom more control over immigration
