English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

1 Answer the following questions in your own words !

How many nations are in the European Union right now ?______________________________________

What did the EU originally want ?__________________________________________________________

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Describe what Europe was like at the end of World War II !_ ___________________________________

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What is the European Coal and Steel Community? When was it founded and why ?_________________

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Which two other organisations were founded in Rome in 1957 ?_________________________________

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When was the first enlargement of the European Union ? Which countries joined ?_________________

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When did Spain and Portugal become members ?_____________________________________________

How did Europe change at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s ?_____________________

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What did EU leaders agree on in the Maastricht Treaty ?_______________________________________

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When did the euro become a currency in 12 European states ?__________________________________

What did the EU work on at the beginning of the 21st century ?_________________________________

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When did the biggest enlargement in history take place ? Which countries joined and why was this so

important ?_____________________________________________________________________________

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Which states were the last to become EU members ?__________________________________________

English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

2 Answer the following questions in your own words !

What do the heads of state do when they meet at the European Council ?________________________

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Which part of the EU makes laws ?_________________________________________________________

What does the EU Commission do ?_________________________________________________________

How many commissioners are there and where do they come from ?_____________________________

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Who is the president of the commission right now ?___________________________________________

What is the difference between the European Parliament and national parliaments ?_ _____________

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Who elects a member of the EU parliament ?________________________________________________

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What does the European Council of Justice do ?______________________________________________

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Where are the headquarters of the European Central Bank ?_ __________________________________

Why are euro coins not the same in all countries ?____________________________________________

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Which EU countries are not in the euro zone ?_ ______________________________________________

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Why are many EU citizens against a larger union ? Give some reasons !__________________________

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Which military organisation is Turkey a member of ?__________________________________________

What kind of problems are there between Turkey and Cyprus ?_ ________________________________

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Which country dominated the EEC during the 1960s ? Who was its powerful leader ?_______________

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Which two leaders became the engines of integration during the 1990s ?_________________________

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English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

3 Match the Words with the definitions

a very important event in the history of

A sign
something

B destination an agreement that is signed by two people

to ask many people what they think about

C milestone
something
the value of money in one country compared
D value
to the money of another country
companies that have complete control in a
E oppress
part of the economy
to put your name on a piece of paper or a
F opinion poll
document

G former what something looks like

a piece of paper on food that tells you what is

H agree
in it

I shape to treat someone badly or unfairly

J exchange rate to have the same opinion as someone else

the place you want to go to or what you want

K coin
to reach

L preservatives the world around you

M label piece of metal that is used as money

group of people that sit together and make

N contract
decisions

O monopoly what something is worth

P environment earlier

something that is put into food so that it

Q council
can’t become bad
English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

4 Write down the main facts about these important EU organisations !

European Council Council of Ministers

European Commission European Parliament

English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

5 Put the sentences below into their correct order !

The Maastricht Treaty is signed.

The UK, Ireland and Denmark join the EEC.

In a national referendum citizens in France and the Netherlands reject a new

constitution .

Austria, Sweden and Finland join the EU.

1 The European Coal and Steel Community is founded by six states.

The biggest enlargement in EU history takes place when 8 countries of former

eastern Europe join the EU.

East and West Germany unite to become the largest EU country.

The euro becomes the single currency in 12 member states.

The European Economic Community is founded in Rome.

The south European nations Greece, Spain and Portugal become members of
the union.

6 Explain in English

free trade zone_______________________________________________________________________

enlargement__________________________________________________________________________

Iron Curtain_ _________________________________________________________________________

head of state_________________________________________________________________________

budget airlines________________________________________________________________________

monopoly____________________________________________________________________________

Schengen country_ ____________________________________________________________________

exchange rate_ _______________________________________________________________________

opinion poll_ _________________________________________________________________________

everyone’s darling_____________________________________________________________________
English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

7 Crossword - Find 12 EU countries !

1 2

3 4

5 6

10

11

Created with EclipseCrossword — www.eclipsecrossword.com

Across
1. country that was one of the six first states
of the EEC
3. small island state with a Greek and Turkish
population
5. island in the Mediterranean Sea
9. country that has not introduced the euro (2
words)
10. biggest EU country in eastern Europe
11. one of the countries of the first enlarge-
ment in 1973
Down
2. country whose two parts united in 1990
4. small country that was once part of Yugo-
slavia
6. country that was once part of the Soviet
Union
7. one of the last two countries to become an
EU member
8. Charles de Gaulle lived in this country
9. country that became a member in 1981
English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

8 Crossword

5 6

7 8

9 10

11

12 13

14

15

16

17

18

Created with EclipseCrossword — www.eclipsecrossword.com

Across
2. a paper or document that is signed by two or
more countries
4. set of laws that a country is governed by
7. when everyone agrees or says yes to something
9. place where your bags are checked when you
enter a country
14. when people of a country vote on something
16. if something breaks down and cannot continue
17. a person who lives in a country and has rights
there
18. when a mobile phone is in another country and
uses a different network
Down
1. the main building of a company or organisation
3. someone who buys a product
5. the money of a country
6. a person who is paid to work for someone else
8. to promise something
10. when more and more countries join the union
11. the working together of two countries
12. owned by the government
13. you are not sure if you should believe what
people say
15. a line that separates two countries
English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

9 Fill in the blanks with the words from the box !

Heads of ________________ get together at least twice a year to ________________ the main problems

that the EU has. Every six months a different ________________ is a host to these talks. The Council of

________________ makes _____________ in the EU and has one representative from each nation. It works

together with the European ________________, which is the executive ________________. It makes sure

that ________________ are followed and laws carried out. 27 commissioners from each of the member na-

tions ____________ for 5 years and are ________________ for certain areas, for example energy, transpor-

tation or ________________.

The European ________________ is the only organisation of the EU that is ______________ by the people

every five years. The EU parliament does not have the same ________________ as national parliaments

do, but works _____________ together with the Council of Ministers and the Commission. Countries with a

________________ population, like Germany or the UK have more ________________ than countries with a

________________ population.

The European Council of ________________ is made up of 27 judges who decide ________________ and

quarrels in court. Their ________________ are final and everyone must follow them.

The European ________________ Bank was founded in 1998 and controls the ________________ of the

euro and the ________________ of money in the union.

amount discuss powers

arguments elected representatives

branch farming responsible

central justice rules

closely larger serve

commission laws smaller

country ministers state

decisions parliament value

English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 

10 True or False ?

T F

The ECSC was founded because European countries didn’t want Germany to
become so powerful again.
In the Maastricht Treaty member countries decided to let eastern European
countries join.

All European countries introduced the euro in 2002.

Citizens in France and the Netherlands rejected the new constitution.

The Council of Ministers makes the laws in the EU.

In the EU parliament all states have the same number of members.

The European Commission tries to keep the euro a strong currency.

When you drive into a “Schengen” country you don’t have to show your pass-
port.

EU citizens can live and work anywhere they want to in the union.

Budget airlines have come up because buying airplanes has become cheaper.

Some food names in the EU are protected by law.

The biggest enlargement took place in 2004.

Turkey will become a new EU member in 2009.

Some people think more and more citizens from new member states will take
away their jobs.

Greek citizens live in the northern part of Cyprus .

The Kurds make up 20 % of the Turkish population.

In the past 50 years there has been a lot of rivalry between EU countries.

Margaret Thatcher blocked France’s membership until 1973.

After the collapse of communism EU integration became faster.

English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 10

11 Find the names of 10 EU countries in the grid below ()!

Z B E G H C D R A O T U

C Z G H T W J M A R W W

Q C K U R C A X S F F Z
Z H B N B L H T W B I I

B Y S G T X Q K E X S L

T V I A S O G T D X I C

W A J R L R M G E O T L

O D Q Y E S T O N I A V

R Q D E A L P L C R L F

T F C B W H A A Z O Y I
Q E S L O V E N I A G A

K P F I N L A N D N E X
English Across The Curriculum

The European Union - Exercises 11

12 Write a dialogue between a Turkish citizen who wants his/her country to

join the EU and someone from an EU country who doesn’t want Turkey

to become a part of the union. Find arguments for and against !

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