The European Union in World Politics

MASTER IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND DIPLOMACY
Course: The European Union in World Politics

Continuous Assessment Unit 2
The Origins of the European Union and the Nature of EU’s Foreign Policy

Student name:

Exercise 1: Multiple-choice questions

Answer the following multiple-choice questions. Please provide the answers in the designated box below and justify each answer in a maximum of 50 words. Make sure to read and think about the questions carefully. There is only one correct answer among the options.

1. Which of the following thinkers contributed to the idea of establishing a European community?

a) Charles de Montesquieu
b) Nicolas Maquiavelo
c) Henri the Saint-Simon
d) Thomas Hobbes

2. How did the Marshall Plan contribute to stimulating the idea of European integration?

a) proving how dependent Europe’s economies were on each other
b) promoting federalism through cooperation
c) helping to restrain inter-European trade
d) none of the above

3. The original purpose of the European project was:

a) create a common political space for members
b) avoid further wars in Europe
c) gain autonomy from WW2 winners (US and URSS)
d) establish a single currency

4. The European Union was founded on:

a) common agricultural policies
b) military cooperation
c) regional development
d) free trade in coal and steel

5. Which of the following international events catalyzed European integration?

a) the uprising of the independence movement in French Indochina
b) the Suez crisis
c) the withdrawal of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact
d) all of the above

6. Which of the following statements about the Treaty of Rome is incorrect?

a) it established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
b) it shaped -more than the Treaty of Paris- nowadays EU’s structure and ambitions
c) it was signed in March 1957
d) it established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC).

7. The Treaty of Maastricht established:

a) common currency: The Euro
b) the position of the HRVP
c) the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
d) the Single European Act (SEA)

8. What was the first attempt at an intergovernmental coordinated foreign policy?

a) EPC
b) CFSP
c) the intergovernmental system
d) the EEC

9. It is said that Europe lacks a single foreign policy but has a common foreign policy because:

a) EU members’ lack of resistance to coordination
b) The three systems of decision-making overlap between them
c) Each member conducts their national foreign policy but acts collectively via EU institutions.
d) none of the above

10. In which Treaty did the EU establish the different types of competences governing its functioning and the relationship between Member States and EU Institutions (exclusive competence, shared competence, supporting competence):

a) the Treaty of Maastricht (1992)
b) the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997)
c) the Treaty of Paris (1952)
d) the Treaty of Lisbon (2007)

11. Which of the following statements on the CFSP as a decision-making system is correct?

a) Through this system the EU speaks with a single voice
b) This system is composed of the EU trade policy and the aid and development policy.
c) This system was a significant step forward in the European Political Cooperation mechanism.
d) all of the above

12. Which position’s role is to help bridge the gap between the two policy making methods in the EU (intergovernmentalism and the Community method) and its signature institutions, respectively: the Council and the Commission?

a) the President of the Council
b) the HRVP
c) the President of the Commission
d) none of the above

13. Which of the following statements on the European External Action Service (EEAS) is incorrect?

a) it is regarded as the EU’s politically independent executive arm
b) alongside the HRVP, the EEAS acts as the EU’s diplomatic body
c) it is aimed at assisting the HRVP in implementing the CFSP and other areas of foreign policy
d) it was created by the Treaty of Lisbon

14. It is said that the EU is a “hybrid actor” because:

a) it has many member states
b) it possesses the characteristics of a multinational organization
c) it has some features of a state and some of an international organization
d) it has different institutions ruled by mandates of different countries

15. Regarding the theorization of the EU as a global actor, which of the following arguments is incorrect:

a) constructivists pose that the interests and identities of EU members are constructed through a social process of bargaining.
b) realists pose that power in international politics is a zero-sum commodity which explains why the EU often fails to speak with a single voice in matters of “high politics”.
c) liberal intergovernmentalists pose that as governments reach political agreements that benefit national economic interests, they try to secure those gains by granting EU institutions enhancement powers.
d) none of the above

ANSWER BOX (the justification can be of a maximum of 50 words per answer).
Number correct option (a,b,c,d)
Justification
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Exercise 2: Short-answer question

After completing the mandatory readings, answer the following question in a maximum of 80 words.

How has the EU’s international role and identity been characterized?