The correct answer is option (2) - (B) and (D) Only
The Treaty of Maastricht, formally known as the Treaty on European Union, was signed in 1992 and laid the foundations for the European Union (EU) as we know it today. It established the EU as a political and economic union, creating the framework for a common foreign and security policy, as well as a single currency, the Euro.
The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one (Statement A). 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 (Statement E). It also has some form of a common foreign and security policy in its dealings with other nations. The European Union has tried to expand areas of cooperation while acquiring new members, especially from the erstwhile Soviet bloc. The process has not proved easy, for people in many countries are not very enthusiastic in giving the EU powers that were exercised by the government of their country. There are also reservations about including some new countries within the EU. The EU has economic, political and diplomatic, and military influence. The EU is the world’s second biggest economy with a GDP of more than $17 trillion in 2016, next to that of the United States of America. Its currency, the euro, can pose a threat to the dominance of the US dollar. Its share of world trade is much larger than that of the United States allowing it to be more assertive in trade disputes with the US and China. Its economic power gives it influence over its closest neighbours as well as in Asia and Africa. It also functions as an important bloc in international economic organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The EU also has political and diplomatic influence. Member of the EU, UK and France, hold permanent seat on the UN Security Council (Statement C). 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 (Correct Statement B). 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 (Correct statement D). As a supranational organisation, the EU is able to intervene in economic, political and social areas. But in many areas its member states have their own foreign relations and defence policies that are often at odds with each other. |
