Given below are two statements:
Statement I: The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one. The EU started to act more as a nation state, it has its own flag, founding date and currency.
Statement II: 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.
In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
Statement I: The European Union has evolved over time from an economic union to an increasingly political one. The EU started to act more as a nation state, it has its own flag, founding date and currency. Correct. The EU has grown from an economic union into an increasingly political one. Though the attempts to give it a Constitution have failed, it acts more and more like a nation state, with its own flag, anthem, founding date and currency.
Statement II: 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. Correct. The EU has economic, political and diplomatic, and military influence, and it was the world’s second biggest economy, with a GDP of more than $17 trillion in 2016, next to the United States.
Note: The figure in Statement II, ‘the world’s second biggest economy with a GDP of more than $17 trillion in 2016’, is from the 2023-24 NCERT, the book of the year of this paper. The later books (2025-26 and 2026-27) have updated it: ‘The European Union’s GDP is projected to be approximately $19.35 trillion in the year 2024.’ The older, pre-rationalised book gave the figure for 2005: ‘the world’s biggest economy with a GDP of more than $12 trillion in 2005’. The statement follows the book of the paper’s year, so it is correct.
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.… …The EU has economic, political and diplomatic, and military influence. The European Union’s GDP is projected to be approximately $19.35 trillion in the year 2024. Its currency, the euro, can pose a threat to the dominance of the US dollar.…” NCERT (2023-24): “European Union … 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.…” NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “European Union … The EU has economic, political and diplomatic, and military influence. The EU is the world’s biggest economy with a GDP of more than $12 trillion in 2005, slightly larger than that of the United States.…” |