Identify the incorrect statements with reference to European Union :
(A) The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to political one.
(B) Its combined forces are the first largest in the world.
(C) One member of the EU, France, holds permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
(D) It is the world's third most important source of space and communications technology.
(E) It has its own flag, anthem and currency.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B) and (D) Only
(A) The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to political one. Correct. The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one.
(B) Its combined forces are the first largest in the world. Incorrect. Militarily, the EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world, and its total spending on defence is second after the US.
(C) One member of the EU, France, holds permanent seat on the UN Security Council. Correct. One member of the EU, France, holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, and the EU includes several non-permanent members of the UNSC.
(D) It is the world’s third most important source of space and communications technology. Incorrect. The EU is the world’s second most important source of space and communications technology.
(E) It has its own flag, anthem and currency. Correct. The EU has started to act more as a nation state: it has its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency.
Note: The pre-rationalised NCERT, the book of this paper’s year, says that two members of the EU, Britain and France, hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council. After Britain’s exit from the EU (Brexit), the NCERT books from 2023-24 onwards, up to the NCERT book (2026-27), name only France. France holds the seat by either book, so statement (C) stays correct, and (B) and (D) remain the incorrect statements.
NCERT (2026-27): “European Union … The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one. The EU has started to act more as a nation state. While the attempts to have a Constitution for the EU have failed, it has its own flag, anthem, founding date, and currency. It also has some form of a common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations.… European Union … The EU also has political and diplomatic influence. One member of the EU, France, holds permanent seat on the UN Security Council. The EU includes several non-permanent members of the UNSC. This has enabled the EU to influence some US policies such as the current US position on Iran’s nuclear programme. Its use of diplomacy, economic investments, and negotiations rather than coercion and military force has been effective as in the case of its dialogue with China on human rights and environmental degradation. Militarily, the EU’s combined armed forces are the second largest in the world. Its total spending on defence is second after the US. One EU member state, France, also has nuclear arsenals of approximately 335 nuclear warheads. It is also the world’s second most important source of space and communications technology.…” NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “European Union … The EU also has political and diplomatic influence. Two members of the EU, Britain and France, hold permanent seats on the UN Security Council.…” |