In the given question, a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of Reason. Mark the correct answer.

Assertion: The European Union has tried to expand areas of cooperation while acquiring new members, especially from the erstwhile Soviet bloc.

Reason: 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.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.

The correct answer is Option 2 - Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion.

Assertion: The European Union has tried to expand areas of cooperation while acquiring new members, especially from the erstwhile Soviet bloc.

Reason: 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.

Both the Assertion and Reason are true individually. However, the Reason does not directly explain the Assertion. The Reason discusses the symbolic state-like attributes of the EU, but it does not provide an explanation for why the EU has expanded areas of cooperation or why it has acquired new members, especially from the erstwhile Soviet bloc.

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 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.