(from The Next 100 Years by George Friedman Anchor Books: New York, 2010)
Speak Up
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What do you think of G. Friedman's view of Russia's role in the past and future history of Europe?
2. Do you agree with G. Friedman's analysis of Russia's and Germany's intertwined destinies?
3. Which of the scenarios for the future of Europe do you find the more feasible? Can you suggest one of your own?
Unit III. EU at the Crossroads
A Brief History of the European Union http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgnXwrsMBUs
PRE-VIEWING QUESTIONS
1. Do you know when the idea of a European Community first appeared?
2. What organisations were the predecessors of the European Union?
3. How many members are there currently in the EU? What countries have acceded to the EU since 2004?
VIEWING
a) While watching the video jot down the words/phrases you may need to speak about the history of the EU (to be compared and shared after viewing).
b) After watching the video answer the following questions:
1. What made European countries strive for a union after World War II?
2. What were the successive stages of the EU formation? What was the aim of each?
3. Why were citizens of some European countries, including Britain, unhappy about being within the EEC/EU?
4. What do you learn from the video about the history of the UK-EU relations?
Speak Up
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What is the procedure of joining the EU nowadays?
2. Do you think any countries are likely to apply for membership in the EU in the near future?
3. What problems has the EU enlargement brought about?
PRE-READING QUESTIONS
1. Are the EU member states developing at the same speed? How many of them are members of the euro-zone?
2. What do you think the notion of a “multi-speed”/ “two-speed Europe” implies? Is it a reality or a concept?
3. Should the more developed countries sign a legally binding agreement giving them power to make decisions independently from the other EU members, what would be the consequences for the Union?
Look through the article to find out what the positive and negative outcomes of a formal implementation of the ‘two-speed Europe' model might be.
THE DANGER OF A TWO-SPEED EUROPE http://www.ecfr.eu/page/-/ECFR43_REINVENTION_OF_EUROPE_ESSAY_AW1.pdf By Mark Leonard>44>
Unit III. EU at the Crossroads
Joshka Fischer, a long-time champion of the idea of two-speed Europe, predicts that the EU will divide into a vanguard (the euro group) and a rearguard (the rest of the 27 EU members): “This formalised division will fundamentally change the EU's internal architecture,” he wrote in July. “Under the umbrella of the enlarged EU, the old dividing lines between a German/French-led European Economic Community and a British/Scandinavian-led European Free Trade Association reemerge.” What Fischer envisages is some kind of legally binding intergovernmental agreement signed by members of the Eurozone outside the scope of the EU treaties (along the same lines as the Schengen arrangement on border-free travel).
