CAST Political Affairs Flashcards
(115 cards)
1
Q
Anniversary of the Schuman declaration in 2015?
A
65° (von 1950)
2
Q
Members of the Arctic council?
A
8 States: Denmark, US, Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden
3
Q
What is the Blue Card?
A
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
4
Q
First president of the European Parliament in 1979?
A
Simone Veil
5
Q
How many MS joined Euro in 2002?
A
12 EU countries
6
Q
Max number of MEP per country?
A
96
7
Q
**Scope of the EU common commercial policy?
A
**Trade in goods and services
Trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property
Trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, foreign direct investment (I think I chose this one)
Trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, foreign direct investment, investment protection
8
Q
What is a twinning?
A
A European Union instrument for institutional cooperation between Public Administrations of EU Member States and of beneficiary or partner countries
9
Q
In which field EU public (Eurobarometer) wanted more harmonization in 2018?
A
Wages
10
Q
What was the number of EU population in 2019?
A
445 million (this one is without UK) 510 million (should be this one)
11
Q
Which of the following are not tasks of the ELA?
A
The right answer should be the one related to definition/regulation of labor rights
- ELA = European Labour Authority
- ELA ensures that EU rules on labour mobility and social security coordination are enforced in a fair and effective way and makes it easier for citizens and businesses to reap the benefits of the internal market
The European Labour Authority performs the following tasks:
- Facilitate access to information for individuals and employers on labour mobility, and coordinate EURES;
- Facilitate cooperation and the exchange of information between EU Member States with a view to the consistent, efficient and effective application and enforcement of relevant Union law;
- Coordinate and support concerted and joint inspections;
- Carry out analyses and risk assessment on issues of cross-border labour mobility;
- Support EU Member States with capacity building regarding the effective application and enforcement of relevant Union law;
- Support EU Member States in tackling undeclared work;
- Mediate disputes between EU Member States on the application of relevant Union law.
12
Q
Which description is right concerning the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space Treaty)
A
Adopted 1967, no property claims
13
Q
Who does not take part in the budget proposal and adoption?
A
EU Court of Auditors
Process: Commission proposal, European Council endorsement, Parliament seal; final adoption by Council of EU
14
Q
Spratly Island & Paracel Island?
A
Islands located in the south Chinese Sea
15
Q
In-depth analysis of macroeconomic problems of Member States - where is the doc included?
A
European Semester (Not sure)
16
Q
First time EU pronounced itself on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?
A
1980 Venice declaration
17
Q
How many judges are in the Court of Justice?
A
At least a judge per Member State
Members:
Court of Justice: 1 judge from each EU country, plus 11 advocates general
18
Q
Members of MERCOSUR?
A
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay (no Chile) Argentina (1991)[4] Brazil (1991)[4] Paraguay (1991)[4] Uruguay (1991)[4] (Venezuela is currently suspended)
19
Q
Which are the members of Civil Protection Mechanism?
A
EU MS + Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, & Turkey (no Israel)
EU MS + Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey
20
Q
What did Luxembourg compromise in 1966 solve?
A
Empty Chair Crisis
21
Q
Which one of the following is not part of EU exclusive competences?
A
Environment
22
Q
Cap budget in 2018?
A
41.7 billion for income support, 14.4 billion for rural development, 2.7 billion market measures
23
Q
Question on Pesco
A
PESCO = Permanent Structured Cooperation, part of the CSDP (Common Security and Defence Policy)
- 25 of the 27 MS (except Denmark and Malta) pursue structured integration of their armed forces
- Based on Article 42.6 and Protocol 10 of the Treaty on European Union, introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009
- PESCO was first initiated in 2017.
24
Q
What is the Basel convention
A
Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes & their Disposal
25
Year of Independence south Sudan
2011
26
Revision of Treaties: who can propose it?
Any national government (Member State), EP or EC
27
How is the MFF adopted?
Unanimous decision by the Council + majority of votes in the EP
28
First time the EU adopted a common position on the issue of Palestine?
Venice Declaration 1980
29
Stability of institutions, guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; A functioning market economy and the ability to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU; Ability to take on the obligations of membership, including the capacity to effectively implement the rules, standards and policies that make up the body of EU law (the 'acquis'), and adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union are part of what?
Copenhagen criteria
30
In what areas of the common commercial policy (Article 207 TFEU) does the EU have exclusive competence?
trade in goods and services
trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property
trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, foreign direct investment
trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, foreign direct investment, investment protection
-- third is the right answer
31
What the Durand line
The Durand Line is the 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) border between Afghanistan and Pakistan
32
How many people lived in the EU in 1 January 2019?
510 (correct answer since UK left officially 31 January 2020)
33
What is true about the ECJ?
The Court of Justice has at least 1 judge per MS
34
Which description is right concerning the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies (Outer Space Treaty)
Adopted 1967, no property claims
35
When was the first direct EP election
1979
36
What of the following is one of Barcelona principles?
**** source needed ****
to provide at least 90% of children between 3 years old and mandatory school age with care
to reduce gender gap in employment by 10 percent points
to reduce gender gap in salaries by 5%
(first answer)
37
What is twinning?
"A European Union instrument for institutional cooperation between Public Administrations of EU Member States and of beneficiary or partner countries”;
38
What is true about the Arctic Council?
One answer with the wrong countries
The leading Intergovernmental organization promoting cooperation, coordination etc. among Arctic countries (right answer)
An intergovernmental organization solving disputes between the Arctic countries
39
How many MS joined in 2002 when coins & banknotes were launched
12 EU countries
40
Who said this statement about Iron Curtain?
Churchill
41
Who coined the term ‘United Nations’ in 1942?
Roosevelt
42
Which are the participating states of the Civil Protection Mechanism?
EU MS + Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey
43
What are exclusive competencies of the EU?
- customs union
- competition rules for the single market
- monetary policy for the eurozone countries
- trade and international agreements (under certain circumstances)
- marine plants and animals regulated by the common fisheries policy
44
What is true about UN Security Council non-permanent members?
Elected by the General Assembly, for a 2-year non-renewable term, presidency rotates in alphabetic order
Along with the five permanent members, the Security Council of the United Nations has temporary members that hold their seats on a rotating basis by geographic region.
These non-permanent members are elected by the United Nations General Assembly for two-year terms starting on 1 January, with five replaced each year.[76] To be approved, a candidate must receive at least two-thirds of all votes cast for that seat, which can result in deadlock if there are two roughly evenly matched candidates. The presidency of the council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the member states' names.
45
Which countries are members of MERCOSUR?
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
46
What is the objective of the Union?
Art 2(1) TEU: "The Union's aim is to promote peace, its values and the well-being of its peoples."
47
Who was NOT a president of the EP?
Jacques Delors
48
In 2018 Eurobarometer, how many Europeans said climate change was a man-made problem?
93%
49
What was the budgetary split of CAP 2018?
€41m to income support; €14m to rural development; €2.37m to market measure (enough to remember the relative proportions of the chapters)
50
Which countries are members of MERCOSUR?
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
51
Which was not an element of the Juncker plan?
Quantitative easing programme (QE)
52
Which one of the following is not among the EU budget principles?
Don’t remember the exact wording, but I think rebates was one o the options – correct answer
The EU budget obeys the nine general rules of unity, budgetary accuracy, annuality, equilibrium, unit of account (the euro), universality, specification (each appropriation is allocated to a particular kind of expenditure), sound financial management and transparency, pursuant to Articles 6 to 38 of the Regulation on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the EU.
53
How many countries participated in the 2002 Euro banknotes and coins changeover?
12
54
**Early Warning System
The EU’s early warning and information systems help the Emergency Response Coordination Centre monitor hazards and events worldwide.
The EU is working with all Member States to put systems in place to reach and alert people affected by a natural or human-induced hazard.
55
What happens if EP doesn’t consent to an international agreement?
It cannot be adopted
Consent of Parliament (Article 218(6)(a), TFEU) is required for:
- association agreements;
- the agreement on Union accession to the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;
- agreements establishing a specific institutional framework by organising cooperation
procedures;
- agreements with important budgetary implications for the Union; and
- agreements covering fields to which either the ordinary legislative procedure applies
If Parliament refuses to give its consent the international agreement cannot be
concluded.
56
According to Article 5 TEU, what are the key guiding principles of Union competences?
Subsidiarity, conferral, proportionality
57
Which one of the following is not among the EU budget principles?
Don’t remember the exact wording, but I think rebates was one o the options – correct answer
58
What is 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 (important to know the last part)
59
What is the New Development Bank?
Multilateral development bank of the BRICS countries
60
What does JCPoA stand for?
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action aka the Iran Nuclear Deal
| P5+1, EU and Iran agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on 14 July
61
What is the maximum number of MEPs per country according to the Treaties?
96
62
What is the Bretton Woods system?
I think the correct answer was wording along the lines of: “A multilateral agreement on international cooperation on monetary policy”
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement. The Bretton Woods system was the first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent states.
63
Who adopts the country-specific recommendations of the European Semester
The Council
64
What does the Common Commercial Policy cover according to Article 2017 TFEU?
trade in goods and services, and the commercial aspects of intellectual property, foreign direct investment
65
What is ITER?
Project on nuclear fusion
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at replicating the fusion processes of the Sun to create energy on the Earth.
66
What was one of the core elements of the Barcelona Objectives?
Provide childcare to 90% children from 3 yo until end of mandatory school
"Member states should remove disincentives to female labour force participation and strive,
taking into account the demand for childcare facilities and in line with national patterns of
provision, to provide childcare by 2010
o to 90 % of children from age 3 until mandatory school age; and
o to 33 % of children under 3 years of age."
67
What majority of MEPs is needed to approve a motion of Censure?
2/3 of voting members, must be majority of total MEPs
68
Who can propose amendments to treaties?
Member States, EC or EP
69
What is true about Cotonou Agreement?
- It covers 79 countries with 48 being in Sub-Saharan Africa
70
What was the Monroe Doctrine asserting?
Anti-imperalism
The Monroe Doctrine was a United States foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere.
President James Monroe first articulated the doctrine on December 2, 1823.
71
Which of the following is correct about NATO?
Correct answer was about the founding members which were 12 in total. Among the wrong answers was that all EU MS but two were now part of NATO (they are instead 22)
72
What is the JCPOA?
Iran nuclear deal
| P5+1, EU and Iran agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on 14 July
73
What is the Esquipulas Agreement about?
Peace in Central America, mid-1980s
74
What are the Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok, Pelindaba treaties about?
They establish nuclear-free zones
75
What does the Paris Agreement state?
cut greenhouse gas emissions with a view to 'holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.
76
What are the EU’s climate objectives?
55% GHG reduction compared to 1990 by 2030, net zero by 2050
77
What is the population of the EU?
Around 445 million (NOW)
78
What is the Stability Pact saying?
MS need to keep deficit at 3%, debt at 60% of GDP
79
G5 Sahel country members
Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Mauritania
80
The European Council decides by …. if it is not otherwise established in the treaties
Consensus / unanimity ????
81
Which EU agency responsible for border management received more funding after 2015?
Frontex
82
Which state does not belong to BRICS?
Indonesia
83
What is true about the infringement procedure?
The Commission is responsible for ensuring that all EU countries properly apply EU law. The Commission takes steps if an EU country:
does not fully incorporate a directive into its national law by the set deadline
does not apply EU law correctly
In these cases, the Commission first works with the country concerned to address the issue. If this is unsuccessful, the Commission may start formal infringement proceedings against the country in question
****Should be approved by 2/3 majority of the MEP
84
Monetary policy integration - which statement is correct
The new Treaty on European Union, which contained the provisions needed to implement the monetary union, was agreed at the European Council held at Maastricht, the Netherlands, in December 1991.
After a decade of preparations, the euro was launched on 1 January 1999: for the first three years it was an ‘invisible’ currency, only used for accounting purposes and electronic payments. Coins and banknotes were launched on 1 January 2002, and in 12 EU countries the biggest cash changeover in history took place.
* Euro monetary policy is managed by Eurosystem, composed by Council..(false)
* Agreed by the E.Council in Maastricht in December 1991, to set up monetary policy and Maastricht convergence criteria (I took that correct)
* EMS was set up in 1971 (Werner report), set up ERM and EU currency unit (ERM and ECU were 1979 so I took that one as false, but not sure)
* Banknotes and coins were introduced 1.1.2002 by 12 countries (Sweden mentioned so false)
85
MFF on how many years
7
86
EU treaties, each with a sentence and YEAR of SIGNATURE
Only for Nice was correct 2001.. others had both wrong signature year and details
- Lisbon, signed 2007
- Nice, signed 2001
- Amsterdam, signed 1997
- Maastricht, signed 1992
- Single European Act, signed 1986
- Merger Treaty/ Brussels Treaty, signed 1965
- Rome (EURATOM), signed 1957
- EESC, signed 1951
87
Subsidiarity for National parliaments
Orange card (subsidiary control mechanism)
A national parliament of an EU member state may object to an EU legislative proposal if it deems the principle of subsidiarity has been violated, i.e. if it argues the subject matter at hand can be best tackled on the national, regional or local level rather than at the European level. If half of the national parliaments raise an objection the European Commission must review the proposal. This is commonly referred to as the 'orange card' as the Commission is given pause and has to decide on whether it withdraws the proposal or whether it will maintain or amend the proposal.
One option that EC sends the proposal to national parliaments before and Council (not true, its at the same time)
88
What is not needed for EC President election
Unanimity in european council
89
Minamata convention on what
Only Mercury (2013)
90
Something on the Ordinary Legislative Procedure and who initiates it
A European Commission proposal may follow a citizens’ initiative (took that one)
It starts with a legislative proposal from the Commission
If you want the EU to take action on a particular issue, you can launch a citizens’ initiative calling on the European Commission to propose new EU legislation on that issue.
For an initiative to be considered by the Commission, you need to get 1 million citizens from across the EU to sign it in support.
91
***EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
* **Not sure about the answer – I chose the COM can take EUMS to court if they breach the Charter in implementing EU law
- Charter is directly applicable; citizens can refer to courts in MS or directly to CJEU; Commission can refer to CJEU
92
Who adopts the country-specific recommendations of the European Semester
Council
93
EU Citizen’s Initiative: how many signature from how many EU MS.
- 1 million signatures
- you must first set up a group of organisers composed of at least 7 EU citizens living in 7 different EU countries.
- You need to get the support of at least 1 million people, with minimum numbers in at least seven EU countries.
94
What is true about farmers in the EU?***
***
There were 10.5 million farms in the EU in 2016, with the vast majority of these (95.2 %) classified as family farms.
In 2016, family farms accounted for around 80 % of the labour force input and around 60 % of the total utilised agricultural area, of livestock units and of the value of the agricultural output.
In 2016, around one third of the managers of family farms were aged 65 or over.
95
***ESPAS
European Strategy and Policy Analysis System: provides a framework for cooperation and consultation at administrative level between the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European External Action Service, with the European Investment Bank, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Union Institute for Security Studies and the European Court of Auditors as observers, to work together on medium and long-term trends facing or relating to the European Union.
96
Which of the following organisations deals with the questions of regional development in Asia?
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia
- member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
97
***Presidents of Eurogroup
- Jean-Claude Juncker 2005 - 2013
- Jeroen Dijsselbloem 2013 - 2018
- Mário Centeno 2018 - 2020
- Pascal Donohoe since 2020
98
***What is a conflict of interest?
A conflict of interest generally refers to a situation where the impartiality and objectivity of a decision, opinion or recommendation of eu-LISA is or might be perceived as being compromised by a personal interest held or entrusted to a given individual.
99
What is the Annual Growth Survey and for what is it used?
The Annual Growth Survey is the Commission's main tool for setting out the general economic and social priorities for the EU for the following year.
he AGS marks the start of the European Semester, the annual cycle of economic policy coordination, where national policies are reviewed collectively at EU level.
100
***What is the snake in the tunnel?
- was a system of European monetary cooperation in the 1970s which aimed at limiting fluctuations between different European currencies.
- was the first attempt at European monetary cooperation
- attempted to create a single currency band for the European Economic Community (EEC), essentially pegging all the EEC currencies to one another.
101
As of January 2019, how many countries form the Eurozone?
19
102
What is the G20?
A forum of industrialised countries
103
What is true about farmers in the EU?
- about 11 million farms, 22 mln farmers with income 40% less than in non-agricultural sector
22 million farmers in the EU, in 10,5 million agribusiness that have (on average) an income 40% lower that non-agriculture sector jobs
104
What does the Rotterdam Convention regulate?
Hazardous chemicals
105
What EU institutions are mainly in charge of the legislative procedure?
European Commission, European Parliament, Council
106
Which treaty established the EU’s legal personality?
Lisbon
107
What is ENISA?
European Network and Information Security Agency
108
What is the objective of COSME?
To boost SME’s competitiveness
109
What is true about the voting system in the Council of the EU?
The Council takes its decisions by simple majority, qualified majority or unanimity; I was not sure about another option that read: “The Council can vote on a legislative act 12 weeks after the draft has been sent to national parliaments”, but in fact it’s 8 weeks. The other two options were easy to rule out.
110
What does ESPAS stand for?
- European Strategy and Policy Analysis System
111
What is correct about UNCLOS?
- It was signed in 1982 in Montego Bay (Jamaica).
112
. What happens after 1 mln citizens from at least ¼ of MS submitted their initiative?
It is submitted to the Commission who should review it within 3 months
113
Which organisation supports individuals and businesses to claim rights?
Solvit
114
What is WRONG about CAP?
- It was reformed after 1992 to better reflect environmental concerns and as well a shift from market support to producer support
- it was set out in the Treaty of Rome
- It requires that only those farmers which adhere to at least basic environmental requirements (cross-implementation or smth like that) receive direct payments and those adhering to higher environmental requirements receive green direct payments
- Agriculture is directly dealt with by the EU unlike transport and education
(last one)
115
What is true about legislation in the EU?
- Directive – binding only in terms of the result to be achieved
- Regulation – binding in terms of the result to be achieved
- Implementing act – non-binding legislative act
(first one)
