CH1; EU history
The EU has 24 official languages with 552 language combinations. (27
members)
Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian,
Greek, Irish, Latvian, Maltese,
Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish,
Croation, Danish, Finnish,
Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian,
Polish, Romanian, Slovenian,
Swedish, German, English and
French. (The last three
languages are
procedural
languages)
The democratic deficit
= there was not enough direct democratic control by the citizens over EU
decision-making.
- Originally, the Council (representing the governments of member
states) had most of the power.
- Over time, to make the EU more democratic, they gave more power
to the European Parliament, which is directly elected by the people
of Europe. This meant that citizens had a stronger voice in the law-
making process — reducing the democratic deficit. (Starting in 1979,
the first direct elections to the European Parliament took place. This
, meant citizens across the European Community (now the EU) could
vote directly for their MEPs)
- So shifting power from the Council to the Parliament made the EU
more democratic.
Why your answer was wrong?
The European Commission is not elected by the general public.
Strengthening the Commission
would actually not reduce the
democratic deficit, because the
Commission is more like an
executive body (it proposes laws, but
it’s not directly elected by voters).
What is EFTA and what happened?
EFTA = European Free Trade Association.
It was founded in 1960 as a rival to the European Economic Community
(which later became the EU).
EFTA still exists today (so you're not totally wrong!), but that's not the
main point the question asked for.
The key historical event:
In 1994, the European Economic Area (EEA) was created.
It links the EU and some EFTA countries together, allowing free movement
of goods, services, people, and capital.
So:
EFTA and the EU together created the EEA. (Signed in 1992 – operating in
1994, but in 1995 Finland, Austria and Sweden joined the EU)
The EU has 24 official languages with 552 language combinations. (27
members)
Bulgarian, Czech, Dutch, Estonian,
Greek, Irish, Latvian, Maltese,
Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish,
Croation, Danish, Finnish,
Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian,
Polish, Romanian, Slovenian,
Swedish, German, English and
French. (The last three
languages are
procedural
languages)
The democratic deficit
= there was not enough direct democratic control by the citizens over EU
decision-making.
- Originally, the Council (representing the governments of member
states) had most of the power.
- Over time, to make the EU more democratic, they gave more power
to the European Parliament, which is directly elected by the people
of Europe. This meant that citizens had a stronger voice in the law-
making process — reducing the democratic deficit. (Starting in 1979,
the first direct elections to the European Parliament took place. This
, meant citizens across the European Community (now the EU) could
vote directly for their MEPs)
- So shifting power from the Council to the Parliament made the EU
more democratic.
Why your answer was wrong?
The European Commission is not elected by the general public.
Strengthening the Commission
would actually not reduce the
democratic deficit, because the
Commission is more like an
executive body (it proposes laws, but
it’s not directly elected by voters).
What is EFTA and what happened?
EFTA = European Free Trade Association.
It was founded in 1960 as a rival to the European Economic Community
(which later became the EU).
EFTA still exists today (so you're not totally wrong!), but that's not the
main point the question asked for.
The key historical event:
In 1994, the European Economic Area (EEA) was created.
It links the EU and some EFTA countries together, allowing free movement
of goods, services, people, and capital.
So:
EFTA and the EU together created the EEA. (Signed in 1992 – operating in
1994, but in 1995 Finland, Austria and Sweden joined the EU)
