Unit 10: EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS, LEGISLATION AND PROJECTS

Index:

Aims and Objectives

In this unit you will learn and practise vocabulary related to European institutions, legislation and projects.

You will practise the following skills and functions:

Section 1: European Institutions

Exercise 1: Multiple Choice Questions

Exercise Help

Here is an easy test to get you warmed up for the subject of this unit:

  1. Name the composer whose music is used in the European anthem.
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  2. How many gold stars are there on the blue background of the EU flag?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  3. In the 1950s, the EU began with just six member states. How many countries are EU members now?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  4. One of these countries is not a member of the European Union – can you name it?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  5. The European Central Bank is located in:
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  6. Where are most of the EU institutions located?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  7. What is the approximate combined population of the countries of the European Union?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  8. Which of the following European capitals is not situated on the Danube?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  9. What are the official languages of the EU?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  10. In which treaty was the name ‘European Union’ first used?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?

Exercise 2: Multiple Choice Questions

Exercise Help

Read the following text:

The European Parliament is elected by the peoples of the Member States. Elections are held every five years. The present parliament has 732 members from all 25 EU countries. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not sit in national blocks, but in seven Europe-wide political groups. The European Parliament has three places of work: Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Luxembourg is home to the administrative offices (the 'General Secretariat'). Meetings of the whole Parliament, known as plenary sessions, take place in Strasbourg and sometimes in Brussels. Committee meetings are also held in Brussels. Parliament has three main roles:

Read the following text and answer the questions:

  1. How often are elections to the European Parliament held?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  2. How many MEPs are there?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  3. Where do plenary sessions usually take place?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  4. Where do MEPs sit in the Parliament?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  5. Which of the following does the European Parliament NOT share responsibility for?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?

Exercise 3: Listening

Exercise Help

Now listen to the recording of the text of the previous exercise:

Recording:

Exercise 4: Exposed Cloze

Exercise Help

Use the correct word or expression from the list below to fill in the gaps in the sentences.

  1. Where are they going to the meeting? In Brussels or in Strasbourg? ?
  2. Will it be a session? Will all the delegates be there? ?
  3. Do you make all the decisions alone or do you make them with your partners? ?
  4. Despite the minister’s warnings the committee’s performance failed to improve so he had to them more severely. ?
  5. We made them a very good offer. I’ve no idea why they decided to it. ?

Exercise 5: Listening

Exercise Help

Now listen and repeat in the spaces provided:

Recording:

Exercise 6: Exposed Cloze

Exercise Help

Use the correct word or expression from the list below to fill in the gaps in the sentences.

  1. Mr President, when did you decide that you wanted to be a ? ?
  2. Freddy said he never voted in elections because he wasn’t interested in . ?
  3. How many parties are represented in the European Parliament? ?
  4. What do you think about the government’s new on pensions? ?
  5. The arrested him for drunk driving. ?

Exercise 7: Listening

Exercise Help

Now listen and repeat in the spaces provided:

Recording:

Exercise 8: True/False Statements

Exercise Help

Read the following text:

The Council of the European Union is the EU's main decision-making body. Its meetings are attended by one minister from each of the EU's national governments depending on the topic under discussion. It should not be confused with the European Council, which is a 'summit' meeting of the heads of EU governments. It should not be confused either with the Council of Europe, which is a completely separate body independent of the European Union. The Council of the European Union has six key responsibilities:

  1. To pass European laws, jointly with the European Parliament in many policy areas.
  2. To co-ordinate the broad economic policies of the member states.
  3. To conclude international agreements between the EU and other countries or international organisations.
  4. To approve the EU's budget, jointly with the European Parliament.
  5. To develop the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, based on guidelines set by the European Council.
  6. To co-ordinate co-operation between the national courts and police forces in criminal matters.
  7. Decisions in the Council are taken by vote. The bigger the country's population, the more votes it has. In some particularly sensitive areas such as Common Foreign and Security Policy, taxation, asylum and immigration policy, Council decisions have to be unanimous and each member state has the power of veto. On most issues, however, the Council takes decisions by a system called 'qualified majority voting'.

Read the following text and answer the questions:

  1. The Council of the European Union is elected by the European Parliament.


    ?
  2. The Council of the European Union is elected directly by the citizens.


    ?
  3. Meetings are attended by one minister from each member country.


    ?
  4. Meetings are always attended by the same ministers.


    ?
  5. The Council of the European Union passes EU legislation.


    ?
  6. The Council of the European Union coordinates economic policy and decides on the EU budget.


    ?
  7. The Council of the European Union makes international agreements with countries not in the EU.


    ?
  8. Decisions must always be unanimous.


    ?
  9. In some areas, such as taxation or immigration, a member can veto an agreement.


    ?
  10. Countries all have the same number of votes in the Council of the European Union.


    ?

Exercise 9: Transformation

Exercise Help

Fill in the gap in sentence B so that it means the same as sentence A.

  1. A. Because of the crisis, the countries involved organised a meeting of their heads of government.
    B. Because of the crisis, the countries involved organised a meeting. ?
  2. A. What topic are they discussing today?
    B. What’s the under discussion today? ?
  3. A. Does the report give any recommendations and general instructions for future action?
    B. Does the report give any for future action? ?
  4. A. Victor sent a text message saying he wouldn’t be able to be present at the meeting.
    B. Victor sent a text message saying he wouldn’t be able to the meeting. ?
  5. A. One of the most important recommendations was to set up a committee.
    B. One of the recommendations was to set up a committee. ?
  6. A. People complained that they had to pay too much tax.
    B. People complained that the level of was too high. ?
  7. A. The government always takes people’s opinions into consideration.
    B. The government is always to people’s opinions. ?

Exercise 10: Multiple Choice Questions

Exercise Help

Read the following text:

The European Commission is independent of national governments. It drafts proposals for new European laws, which it presents to the European Parliament and the Council. It is also the EU's executive arm - in other words, it is responsible for implementing the decisions of Parliament and the Council, running EU programmes and spending EU funds. A new Commission is appointed by member state governments and the Parliament every five years, within six months of the elections to the European Parliament. The Commission remains politically accountable to Parliament, which has the power to dismiss the whole Commission by adopting a motion of censure. The day-to-day running of the Commission is done by its administrative officials, experts, translators, interpreters and secretarial staff. There are approximately 25,000 of these European civil servants. The 'seat' of the Commission is in Brussels, but it also has offices in Luxembourg, in all EU countries and delegations in capital cities around the world. The Commission has four main roles:

Chose the correct answer.

  1. How often is a new European Commission appointed?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  2. How are members of the Commission appointed?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  3. Where is the Commission based?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  4. Which institution supervises the Commission’s work?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  5. Which of the following is the European Commission NOT responsible for?
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?

Exercise 11: Multiple Choice Questions

Exercise Help

Choose the correct definition, A or B, of the word or expression as used in the previous text:

  1. TO DRAFT
    a. 
    b. 
    ?
  2. PROPOSAL
    a. 
    b. 
    ?
  3. TO IMPLEMENT
    a. 
    b. 
    ?
  4. THE COMMISSION IS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PARLIAMENT
    a. 
    b. 
    ?
  5. A MOTION OF CENSURE
    a. 
    b. 
    ?
  6. A CIVIL SERVANT
    a. 
    b. 
    ?

Exercise 12: True/False Statements

Exercise Help

Read the following text:

The Court of Justice of the European Communities is based in Luxembourg. Its job is to make sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries, so that the law is equal for everyone. It ensures, for example, that national courts do not give different rulings on the same issue. The Court also makes sure that EU member states and institutions do what the law requires. The Court has the power to settle legal disputes between EU member states, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. The Court is composed of one judge per member state, so that all 25 of the EU's national legal systems are represented. For the sake of efficiency, however, the Court rarely sits as the full court. It usually sits as a 'Grand Chamber' of just 13 judges or in chambers of five or three judges. The Court is assisted by eight 'advocates-general'. Their role is to present reasoned opinions on the cases brought before the Court.

For each of the statements below, choose True or False.

  1. The Court of Justice is the institution responsible for making new laws.


    ?
  2. The Court of Justice ensures uniform interpretation and application of EU legislation.


    ?
  3. The number of judges that a country has in the Court depends on the size of the country.


    ?
  4. Private businesses or individuals can ask the Court to settle a legal dispute.


    ?
  5. All sessions of the Court are attended by all 25 judges.


    ?

Exercise 13: Selections

Exercise Help

In the following groups of words and expressions, which one does not belong?

  1. a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    d. 
    ?
  2. a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    d. 
    ?
  3. a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    d. 
    ?
  4. a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    d. 
    ?
  5. a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    d. 
    ?

Exercise 14: Cloze

Exercise Help

Fill in the gaps in the text below. For each gap there is only one correct answer.

The Court of Auditors is based ? Luxembourg. Its job is to check that EU funds, which come ? the taxpayers, are properly collected and are spent legally, economically and ? the intended purpose. It has the right to audit any person or organisation handling EU funds. The Court has one member ? each EU country. The Court’s main role is to check that EU income and expenditure is legal and to ensure sound financial management. To carry ? its tasks, the Court investigates the paperwork ? any person or organisation handling EU income or expenditure. It frequently carries out on-the-spot checks. Its findings are written ? in reports which bring any problems ? the attention of the Commission and EU member state governments. One of its key functions is to help the European Parliament and the Council ? presenting them every year with an audit report ? the previous financial year. The Court of Auditors also gives its opinion on proposals for EU financial legislation and for EU action to fight fraud.

Exercise 15: Cloze

Exercise Help

Fill in the gaps in the text below. For each gap there is only one correct answer.

There ? five main EU institutions, each playing a specific role:

The European ? (elected by the peoples of the Member States); the ? of the European Union (representing the governments of the ? States); the European ? (executive body); the ? of Justice (ensuring compliance with the law); the Court of ? (controlling lawful management of the EU budget).

Five other important bodies are the European Economic and Social Committee (expresses the opinions of organised civil society on economic and social issues); the Committee of the Regions (expresses the opinions of ? and local authorities); the European Central ? (responsible for monetary policy and managing the euro); the European Investment Bank (helps achieve EU objectives by financing investment projects); the European Ombudsman (deals ? citizens' complaints about maladministration by any EU institution or body). A number of other agencies and bodies complete the system.

Exercise 16: Listening

Exercise Help

Now listen to the recording of the text of the previous exercise:

Recording:

Exercise 17: Multiple Choice Questions

Exercise Help

Test your knowledge about EU institutions:

  1. Elected by the people in the member states. Meets in Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels. Passes laws and supervises the other EU institutions.
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  2. Not elected by the people. The EU’s executive body. Works mainly in Brusssels and implements EU policies.
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  3. The EU's main decision-making body. Meetings are attended by one minister from each of the EU’s national governments.
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  4. Based in Luxembourg. Makes sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries.
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?
  5. Based in Luxembourg. Checks that EU funds are properly collected from taxpayers and that they are spent legally and economically.
    a. 
    b. 
    c. 
    ?