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Where is Europe? 3
ICELAND...land of fire and ice 4
Highest peaks at the ALPS 6
IRELAND...the emerald isle 7
The MEDITERRANEAN...sea of the south 8
Getting around 14
EUROTUNNEL...the new way to Europe 17
The story of the EUROPEAN UNION 22
Where is TURKEY? 34
European CAPITALS of Culture 42
3
Europe is one of the seven continents of the world.
Around 739 million people lived in Europe in
2010. This makes it the third most populated
continent. 11 per cent of the world’s population
lives in Europe. It is the world’s second smallest
continent, with only 10 per cent of the world’s
land area. This means it has a high population
density compared to other continents.
With over 40 different countries, international
conflicts in the past century have often erupted
into war. Today, the majority of people live in
cities and many enjoy a high standard of living,
thanks to their countries’ abundant natural
resources, successful agriculture, and modern
industries.
Some countries in Europe are part of the
European Union, and some share one currency. It
is important to understand how the politics and
geography of European countries affect migration
and population.
4
Iceland is the second largest island in Europe,
following Great Britain, and the 18th largest
island in the world. The island itself stretches
across 103,000 km2, which is about the same
size as Hungary and Portugal. With almost 80%
of the country uninhabited, much of Iceland's
terrain consists of plateaux, mountain peaks,
and fertile lowlands. There are many long, deep
fjords and glaciers, including Europe's largest,
Vatnajökull. The landscape is characterized by
waterfalls, geysers, volcanoes, black sand
beaches, and otherworldly steaming lava fields.
Iceland is located on the mid-Atlantic ridge.
This is plate boundary where plates are moving
apart. Many tectonic features can be found here.
Basalt is a type of volcanic rock. Basalt columns
are formed from the slow cooling of lava. Giant’s
Causeway in Ireland is also formed from basalt
columns.
There are many volcanoes in Iceland.
The Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in 2010,
causing flooding nearby because of the melt
water from the glacier above the volcano. The
eruption also caused the grounding of aeroplanes
throughout Europe because of fine volcanic ash
in the atmosphere.
Iceland’s northern latitude means the climate is
cold. There are many glaciers in Iceland. If the
snout of a glacier is at a lake, ice may break off,
creating icebergs. There is a lot of geothermal
activity in Iceland. The geothermal heat warms
waters, and this can create tourist attractions like
geysers. The heat can also be used to warm water
for leisure, eg. swimming, or for the creation of
electricity. One of the most popular tourist
attractions is the Blue Lagoon. The waste water
from the power station beside it is used in the
swimming area.
5
The Icelandic main dishes contain: lamb, seafood
and dairy products.
The bread you will get in Iceland is mostly dark rye
bread or rye flat bread, which is very tasty too.
Reindeer meat is also available in Iceland, but is
quite expensive.
One specialty in Iceland which takes a bit to get
used to is "Hakarl" which is rotten shark meat and it
smells quite strongly. Others are; Skyr (yogurt like
white cheese or like low fat cream cheese), dried
fish (usually haddock, cod or catfish), salmon and
pickled herring.
STRANGE
6
The Alps is one of Europe’s highest mountain
ranges. They stretch through areas of France,
Italy, Austria, Germany,Slovenia and
Switzerland. The Matterhorn, a pyramidal
peak, is probably the most famous of its peaks.
As the Alps are so high, around 4,000 metres
above sea level, snow is present all year. This
means that glaciers are able to develop.
The highest peak in the Alps is Mont Blanc at
4,810 metres. Mont Blanc (French) or Monte
Blanco (Italian) means White Mountain. The
mountain itself attracts many visitors from all
over the world as it is the tallest mountain in the
Alps and also in Western Europe. The town
next to Mont Blanc, Chamonix, was the site of
the first ever Winter Olympics. The Alps are
probably one of the most popular tourist
destinations in Europe. People visit the Alps all
year round for many different reasons.
In summer people come here to sightsee, as the
picturesque mountains make a wonderful
backdrop.
Summer activities such as hiking, mountain
biking, mountaineering and paragliding are
popular. The alpine lakes are also fun for
swimming, if you’re brave enough that is, most
of them are freezing cold! In most regions of
the Alps from December to April, winter sports
like skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and
tobogganing are extremely popular. Sounds fun!
7
Ireland is an island nation on the westernmost
edge of Europe. It is the continent's second largest
island (after Great Britain).
The Republic of Ireland occupies 80 percent of
this landmass, while a large chunk of land in the
north is part of the United Kingdom.
Ireland is known for its wide expanses of lush,
green fields. In fact, its nickname is the Emerald
Isle. But there are also large areas of rugged,
rocky landscape. About 15,000 years ago, Ireland
was completely covered by thick glaciers. The
movement of these giant sheets of ice stripped the
soil, leaving huge tracts of flat, limestone
pavement.
The Irish have a great affection for nature and
rural life. The country's first coins even featured
pictures of animals. Low levels of development
and pollution in Ireland have left most of the
nation's open spaces relatively undisturbed.
Did you know that there are no wild snakes in
Ireland? The sea has stopped many animals
common on mainland Europe from reaching the
island. There are also only two wild mouse
species, one type of lizard, and just three kinds
of amphibians. Irish wildlife is protected by
government conservation programs. To preserve
natural habitat, the government has established six
national parks and hundreds of national heritage
areas throughout the country.
8
The Mediterranean Sea lies between Europe
and Africa, and twelve European countries have
a Mediterranean coastline. These countries
have hot, dry summers and cool wet winters.
The ecosystem here is very different to the
northern countries of Europe. Many areas grow
olive trees and citrus fruits, and vineyards are
also common.
The beaches along the coast of the
Mediterranean are popular with tourists. The
Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic
Ocean by a narrow passage called the Strait of
Gibraltar. It is between the southern tip of
Spain and northern Morroco. It is almost
completely surrounded by land, on the north
by Europe, on the south by North Africa, and
on the east by the Middle East. It covers around
2.5 million km² (965 000 mi²).
To the east it connects to the Sea of
Marmara and the Black Sea, by
the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. The Sea of
Marmara is often thought to be a part of the
Mediterranean Sea, whereas the Black Sea is
generally not.
The 163 km long man-made Suez Canal in the
southeast connects the Mediterranean Sea to
the Red Sea. The canal is between Egypt and the
Sinai peninsula. It was built by the French
Compagnie Universelle du Canal Maritime de
Suez from 1859 to 1869 against the British
government. As a sea around which some of the
most ancient human civilizations were arranged.
9
Plants and animals living in the Mediterranean
biome have to be able to cope with hot and dry
conditions in the summer. They have to be able
to conserve water and tolerate long periods of
drought. In addition, they have to cope with
hazards such as wildfires.
In order to cope with these hostile
conditions, many plants and animals have
evolved special adaptations to help them
survive. Trees and shrubs tend to have small,
waxy leaves to reduce water loss by
transpiration. They have thick fire-resistant
bark to help them survive the occasional
wildfires that break out during the summer.
Many animals are nocturnal, spending much of
the daytime in cool underground tunnels and
feeding at night.
10
• Look up all the countries which make up the European continent and label them on
the map below.
• On the map also mark the islands of Sicily,
Corsica, Sardinia, Crete and Balearic islands.
11
• Fill in the table below with the capital city of the countries below.
Spain
Portugal
France
Germany
Italy
Slovenia
Malta
Cyprus
Belgium
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Sweden
Norway
Finland
Iceland
Ireland
United Kingdom
Denmark
Austria
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Poland
Slovakia
Hungary
12
• Fill in the table below with either a country or a capital city as required.
Croatia
Bosnia Herzegovina
Macedonia
Albania
Serbia
Greece
Romania
Bulgaria
Moldova
Ukraine
Belarus
Lithuania
Latvia
Estonia
13
• Match the numbers on the map with the following physical features of Europe.
Alps
Pyrenees
Ural mountains
Appennines
Baltic Shield
European Plain
River Seine
River Danube
River Rhône
River Volga
Altlantic Ocean
Black Sea
Baltic Sea
Norwegian Sea
Mediterranean Sea
River Rhine
• Name three European countries that have:
a) a North Sea coastline ______________________________
b) a Mediterranean coastline __________________________
c) part of their land area in the Alps
________________________________________________
• Which country or countries best fit the following
descriptions:
a) Shaped like a boot and kicked little Sicily into the sea
________________________________________________
b) Also known as the Iberian peninsula
________________________________________________
c) The countries known as Scandinavia
________________________________________________
d) The Benelux countries
________________________________________________
e) The Emerald Isle
________________________________________________
14
Did you know that railways were invented in
Europe? It was in England that George
Stephenson introduced the first passenger train in
1825. His most famous locomotive was called
‘the Rocket’ and it reached speeds of more than
40 kilometres per hour (km/h) – which was really
fast for those days. Today, Europe’s high-speed
electric trains are very different from those first
steam engines. They are very comfortable and
they travel at speeds of up to 330 km/h on
specially built tracks. More tracks are being built
all the time, to allow people to travel quickly
between Europe’s big cities.
Roads and railways sometimes have to cross
mountain ranges, wide rivers or even the sea. So
engineers have built some very long bridges and
tunnels. The longest road tunnel in Europe is the
Laerdal tunnel in Norway, between Bergen and
Oslo. It is more than 24 km long and was opened
in the year 2000. The longest railway tunnel in
Europe is the Channel Tunnel. It carries Eurostar
high-speed trains under the sea between Calais
in France and Folkestone in England, and it’s
more than 50 km long.
The highest bridge in the world (245 metres tall) is
the Millau Viaduct in France, which was opened in
2004. Two of the longest bridges in Europe are the
Oresund road and rail bridge (16 km long) between
Denmark and Sweden and the Vasco da Gama road
bridge (more than 17 km long) across the river
Tagus in Portugal. The Vasco da Gama bridge is
named after a famous explorer.
15
People also travel around Europe by plane,
because air travel is quick. Some of the world’s
best planes are built in Europe – for example,
the ‘Airbus’. Different European countries
make different parts of an Airbus, and then a
team of engineers puts the whole plane together.
The fastest ever passenger plane, the Concorde,
was designed by a team of French and British
engineers. Concorde could fly at 2160 km/h –
twice the speed of sound – and could cross the
Atlantic in less than three hours! (Most planes
take about eight hours.) Concorde took its final
flight in 2003. Faster than any plane are space
rockets, such as Ariane – a joint project between
several European countries. People don’t travel
in the Ariane rocket: it is used to launch
satellites, which are needed for TV and mobile
phone networks, for scientifi c research and so
on.
Most of the world’s satellites are now launched
using these European rockets. The success of
Concorde, Airbus and Ariane show what can be
achieved when European countries work
together.
16
• The sketch show four different kinds of transport. Each has its good point and bad points for transporting goods.
• Fill in the lists below to show which type of transport is best for each task. The best one should be
number 1.
• Match the following ‘heads’ with their correct ‘tails’.
• Which type of transport is most suited for transporting each of the following? Choose from sea,
air, or sea and air.
17
In the past, the English Channel has been a line
of defence that has protected Britain from its
European neighbours. Nowadays, that narrow
stretch of water acts like a barrier which
prevents the easy movement of people and
goods bewtween Britain and the Continent.
A survey in the 1980s forecast that cross-
channel traffic would be more than double
between 1983 and 2003. The present sea and air
routes would not be able to handle that increase.
In 1987 the governments of Britain and France
finally agreed to build a channel tunnel to try to
overcome the problem.
The tunnel will provide a link between the
transport networks of Britain and mainland
Europe. It will make going to the Continent faster
and easier. It should also help to improve
tourism, trade and industry.
How long is the tunnel?
Which ports does it join?
How many tunnels does it have?
How long is the journey time through the tunnel?
How frequent do trains leave?
Which two majoy cities does the train link?
How long did the construction of the tunnel take?
When did the construction of the tunnel start?
20
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22
In the last century, many European countries
fought each other in two world wars and
millions of people died. Europe’s economy was
badly damaged and the map of Europe had to
be redrawn as the borders of some countries
changed.
Two Frenchmen, Robert Schuman and Jean
Monnet, put forward the idea that the two
previous enemies, France and Germany, should
in future work together in the production of
coal and steel instead of using it to make
weapons to fight each other. So, on 9 May
1950, Robert Schuman, the French Foreign
Minister, proposed setting up a club called the
‘European Coal and Steel Community’.
Belgium, Germany, France, Italy,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands were the
first countries to join this club which was
formed in 1951.
It worked so well that, in 1957, these six
countries decided to start another club, the
‘European Economic Community’, aimed at
making laws and policies together to improve
trade and support farmers. This method of
cooperation was later extended to other areas
where the club members felt that more could be
achieved by working together than alone. The
clubs were joined and are now called the
‘European Union’. Each Member State has a
voice in this process and most of the decisions
are made by both government ministers and the
men and women elected by the people to sit in
the European Parliament. The work of the club
members was so successful that more and more
countries in Europe wanted to join up.
Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom
decided to join the community in 1973. In 1981
Greece became a member, followed by Spain
and Portugal in 1986. Austria, Finland and
Sweden joined in 1995 and, in 2004, 10
countries joined at the same time — Czech
Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and
Slovakia. In 2007 Bulgaria and Romania were
welcomed into the European Union, and
Croatia joined in
2013.
23
• Match the pictures from the history of the European Union to the correct captions.
1. After the Second World War, many cities all
over Europe lay in ruins; here is Frankfurt am
Main in Germany.
2. A symbolic act: Jean Monnet (r.), President of
the High Commission of the European Coal and
Steel Community (ECSC), presents the first block
of ‘European’ steel, so inaugurating the common
market for steel in April 1953.
3. 25 March 1957: in Rome, representatives of the
six founding countries, Belgium, the Federal
Republic of Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg
and the Netherlands, sign the Rome Treaties
establishing the European Economic
Community (EEC) and the European Atomic
Energy Community (Euratom).
4. On 7 February 1992, the Heads of State or
Government sign the Maastricht Treaty,
establishing economic and monetary union.
5. The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam sets the seal
on the step-by-step creation of an area of
freedom, security and justice; here is the treaty
document with signatures and official seals.
6. With a large image projected onto the
European Commission building in Brussels, the
EU welcomes its new members Bulgaria and
Romania in 2007.
7. On 10 December 2012, the Nobel Peace Prize
was awarded to the European Union in Oslo,
Norway. The Nobel Prize Committee honoured
the EU’s contribution over 6 decades to the
advancement of peace, democracy and human
rights in Europe.
26
• Colour the EU member countries with colours for their accession year.
France Austria Bulgaria
Italy Finland Romania
Luxembourg Sweden
Germany Croatia
Netherlands Estonia
Belgium Latvia
Lithuania
United Kingdom Poland
Denmark Czech Republic
Ireland Slovakia
Slovenia
Greece Hungary
Malta
Portugal Cyprus
Spain
27
• Look up the EU symbols and write some information about them.
• The EU motto
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
• The European anthem
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
• The Euro
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
• The European flag
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
• Europe day
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
28
The EU tries to make life better in all sorts of ways. Here are some of them:
The environment belongs to everyone, so
countries have to work together to protect it.
The EU has rules about stopping pollution and
about protecting (for example wild birds).
These rules apply in all EU countries and
their governments have to make sure they are
obeyed.
Climate change – also known as global
warming – is another problem that countries
cannot tackle alone. EU countries have
therefore agreed to work together to lower the
amount of emissions they produce that harm
the atmosphere and cause global warming. The
EU is also trying to influence other countries to
do the same.
People in the EU are free to live, work or study
in whichever EU country they choose, and the EU
is doing all it can to make it simple to move home
from one country to another. When you cross the
borders between most EU countries, you no
longer need a passport. The EU encourages
students and young people to spend some time
studying or training in another European country.
It’s important for people to have jobs that they
enjoy and are good at. Some of the money they
earn goes to pay for hospitals and schools, and to
look after old people. That’s why the EU is doing
all it can to create new and better jobs for
everyone who can work. It helps people to set up
new businesses, and provides money to train
people to do new kinds of work.
29
Life is not easy for everyone everywhere in
Europe. In some places there are not enough
jobs for people, because mines or factories
have closed down. In some areas, farming is
hard because of the climate, or trade is difficult
because there are not enough roads and
railways.
The EU tackles these problems by collecting
money from all its member countries and using
it to help regions that are in difficulty. For
example, it helps pay for new roads and rail
links, and it helps businesses to provide new
jobs for people.
The Second World War had made it very
difficult for Europe to produce food or to
import it from other continents. Europe was
short of food even in the early 1950s. So the
EEC decided on an arrangement for paying its
farmers to produce more food, and to make
sure that they could earn a decent living from
the land. This arrangement was called the
‘common agricultural policy’ (or CAP). It
worked well so well, in fact, that farmers ended
up producing too much food and the
arrangement had to be changed!
In many countries around the world, people are
dying or living difficult lives because of war,
disease and natural disasters such as droughts or
floods. Often these countries do not have enough
money to build the schools and hospitals, roads
and houses that their people need.
The EU gives money to these countries, and sends
teachers, doctors, engineers and other experts to
work there. It also buys many things that those
countries produce without charging customs
duties. That way, the poor countries can earn more
money.
Nowadays, the CAP also pays farmers to look
after the countryside.
30
• encourage economic and social progress
• ensure every citizen has the right to move
around freely within the EU and have a vote
• encourage countries to live in safety and not
threaten war
• support the development of laws to help protect
people’s rights
• speak on behalf of its members to other
countries
• be economically strong enough to cope in a
global trading market
31
• Firstly, watch attentively the clip at on the board and then mark if the following
statements are True or False.
1. EU laws are decided by UK ministers, MEPs and people from other
member states.
2. EU laws are decided only by MEPs.
3. EU policy affects the price we pay for fish and chips.
4. EU policy and laws do not affect which chemicals are used on food.
5. EU policy and laws make sure sewage and waste do not pollute our seas
and rivers.
6. The EU makes sure that the water we bathe in on holiday is dirty.
7. EU laws limit the levels of fumes and emissions from cars and power
plants.
8. The EU has helped to create more air routes between European
countries.
9. The EU is the smallest single market in the world.
10. The EU creates barriers to trade within the EU.
11. The EU is the largest single market in the world.
12. The EU has removed barriers to trade within the EU.
13. EU policy and laws mean that goods produced in Spain can be easily
sold in Northern Ireland.
14. EU policy and laws mean that consumers’ rights are protected.
15. EU policy and laws mean that food labels must have the ingredients
listed.
16. EU policy and laws limit the type of chemicals that are used on food.
17. EU policy and law means that EU residents can work anywhere in the
EU.
18. EU policy and law means that EU residents are able to travel freely
within the EU.
19. The EU does nothing to help poor countries.
20. EU policy and laws try to prevent drug smuggling, terrorism and
32
In years gone by, each country in Europe had
its own kind of money, or ‘currency’. Now
there is one single currency, the euro, which
all EU countries can share if they wish. Having
one currency makes it easier to do business
and to travel and shop all over the EU
without having to change from one currency
to another.
It took nine years of hard work and careful
planning to introduce the euro. The notes and
coins came into use in 2002. Today, more than
two thirds of the EU’s citizens are using the
euro instead of the old currencies. If you
compare euro coins you will see that on one
side there is a design representing the country it
was made in. The other side is the same for all
the countries.
There are advantages of being in the Eurozone:
• It saves money as you do not need to change
currency when travelling between two
countries that both use the Euro.
• It prevents a single country in the Euro being
affected by large changes in exchange rates.
• It helps reduce the price difference between
the same product between countries in the
Eurozone.
• There are disadvantages of being in the
Eurozone:
• People feel that they lose some of their
identity.
• People feel that they are giving too much
power to the European Union.
• If one country in the Euro has a crisis, it can
more easily transfer to other countries.
34
Turkey is a large peninsula that bridges the
continents of Europe and Asia. Turkey is
surrounded on three sides by the Black Sea, the
Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean Sea.
Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, is built on
land in the Bosporus seaway. The city is partly
in Europe and partly in Asia.
Turkey is one of the most earthquake prone
areas on Earth and has suffered from 13
earthquakes in the past 70 years.
Turkey's highest mountain, Mount Ararat has
two peaks, with Great Ararat reaching 16,945
feet (5,165 meters). The mountain is considered
sacred by many people and is believed to be
where Noah beached his ark after the great flood.
The Turkish people are from diverse
backgrounds, a reminder of the many different
groups that conquered Turkey over thousands of
years. The majority of the population lives in
cities, and children who want to go to high
school must move to a city. The people are
primarily Sunni Muslim. One fifth of the
population is Kurdish.
Children who live in the European side of
Istanbul may cross the Bosporus by ferry to visit
grandparents in Asia. Turks are family oriented
and are very hospitable people. They invite
visitors to their homes and make sure they have
something to eat and drink before they leave.
One of their favorite meals is kebab made from
grilled lamb. Their diet includes lamb, eggplant,
and yogurt. A sweet flavored candy with rose
petals called Turkish delight, or lokum, is sold in
many flavors and colors.
To find work, about two million Turks are
currently guest workers in Germany and have
formed their own communities there.
Soccer is the most popular sport in Turkey. There
are three popular teams based in Istanbul. Turks
excel at weightlifting and a form of wrestling
called Turkish wrestling.
36
• Locate and circle the 30 words associated with the Republic of Turkey listed at the
bottom of the page.
37
• Just like the tiles of a Turkish mosaic...the squares below will lead you to different
Turkish symbols and landmarks.
• Read the clues carefully and try to fill in the squares in the best way possible.
38
Turkey first submitted its application to join the
European Union in 1987, but negotiations did not
begin until 2005. Since then, an array of domestic
and international setbacks has seen progress stall.
Few European governments are in favour,
arguing that the cultural, geopolitical and
economic differences are too significant. "The
main reason why matters have proceeded so
slowly is that the EU's big beasts, France and
Germany, do not want Turkey to join," says The
Guardian. "Hardly anything happens in the EU
without the agreement of these two founding
members."
So what are Turkey's realistic chances of joining
and what would it mean for the EU?
The EU has had to rely on Turkey's co-operation
as it struggles to cope with the worst refugee
crisis since the Second World War. Under a deal
agreed in March 2016, one Syrian refugee from a
Turkish camp will be admitted to Europe for each
irregular migrant sent to Turkey from Greece.
The EU has promised fresh discussions on
Turkish membership and visa-free travel for
Turks, as well as £2.3bn of refugee aid between
2016 and 2018. EU representatives have
criticised Turkey's refugee selection process since
it seems that Syrian refugee doctors and
engineers are being denied permission to leave in
favour of severely ill or uneducated refugees.
The rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has put
Turkey at the centre of a conflict that has global
consequences. Some European officials, believe
allowing Turkey to become a member of the EU
will create a strong ally in the fight against
terrorism in the region. Most of Turkey's land-
mass is in Asia. Critics say the EU does not need
borders with unstable countries such as Iraq, Iran
and Syria. The fact that Turkey refuses to recognize
EU member Cyprus and has unresolved
territorial disputes with Greece makes it even
harder.
39
Allowing Turkey to join would provide a fresh
influx of workers for Europe. The country has a
young and increasingly well-educated population
and some argue the ageing EU cannot afford to
block young people from its workforce. But at a
time when many governments are under
increasing pressure to reduce high levels of
immigration, allowing millions more workers to
cross their borders is not expected to be high on
their agenda.
Turkey's geographic position at the crossroads
between Europe and the East allows it to provide
a much-needed bridge between western and
Islamic worlds at a time of heightened tensions
between the two. Many argue that Turkey is
better equipped to mediate in the Middle East
than European countries.
Turkey’s economy is growing and it is also the
country across which pipelines deliver large
supplies of oil and gas from Asia. Free trade
between EU countries is one of the greatest
advantages and granting Turkey membership
would create a whole new market for European
goods. Others point to the recent economic crisis
in Greece and warn that Turkey is not yet rich
enough to join, saying that taxpayers in wealthier
countries would be forced to subsidise it.
Countries hoping to join the European Union are
required to achieve a certain standard of
democracy and human rights. Since it first applied
for membership, Turkey has made some gains
towards these, including abolishing the death
penalty and introducing tougher laws against
torture, as well as moderate reforms to help
women. Turkey has a bad record on torture,
freedom of speech, women's rights and the
treatment of religious and ethnic minorities such
as Christians and Kurds, as well as problems with
civilian control over the military.
Another important issue is the power Turkey
would gain if it joined. It would have at least as
many votes in the EU council and seats in the
European Parliament as Germany, the largest
member, and more than any other.
40
• Read again the text on pages 38-39 and highlight the main arguments about the possible accession of Turkey in the EU.
• Divide the argument into the sections below. It is important to SUMMARIZE your points!
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42
The European Capital of Culture is a city
nominated by the European Union for a period
of one year during which it organises a series of
cultural events with a strong European
dimension.
Preparing a European Capital of Culture can be
an opportunity for the city to create considerable
cultural, social and economic benefits and it
can help produce urban regeneration, change the
city's image and raise its popularity on an
international scale.
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European Capitals of Culture are formally
designated four years before the actual year. This
long period of time is necessary for the planning
and preparation of such a complex event. The
panel, supported by the European Commission,
has a continuing role during these four years in
supporting European Capitals of Culture with
advice and guidance and taking stock of their
preparations.
At the end of this monitoring period, the panel will
consider whether to recommend or not that the
European Commission pays the Melina Mercouri
Prize (currently €1.5m funded from the EU
Creative Europe programme).
43
On the 13th of October 2012, Valletta was
announced as The European City of Culture for
2018. This prestigious title reflects the
incredibly rich cultural heritage of this city.
The fortified city, built by Jean Parisot de la
Vallette, a Grand Master of the Knights of St
John, is full of architectural and artistic
examples of a our past. Valletta is a living city
with brimming café culture, art installations and
exhibits, open squares, and a thriving market.
These all contribute to making Valletta much
more than a living museum.
The city is changing constantly, and nowhere is
this clearer than the upgrading of Valletta’s
entrance. This monumental project combines a
redesigning of the city’s entrance gate with the
building of a new, modern parliament. The work
also includes the transformation of a historic
theatre that has been abandoned since its
destruction in World War II, and the creation of
a new square: Piazza de Valette. The Valletta
2018 project is based on four themes:
Generations, Routes, Cities and Islands.
During 2018, Valletta will be organising a
number of events that will serve as inspiration to
other cities based on these themes.
44
• Look up one of the events set up for the Valletta 2018 project and describe it in a
few words below.
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• Can you come up with other ideas for events which can be organized? Describe your ideas
below.
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46
a list or plan of things to be done or voted upon.
Common Agricultural Policy — a coordinated system established in 1960
by the European Economic Community for stabilizing prices of farm
products of its member countries.
a long term change in the earth's climate, especially a change due to
an increase in the average atmospheric temperature.
official supervision of rivers, forests, and other natural resources in order
to reserve and protect them through prudent management.
an economic association created mainly to abolish barriers to free trade
among member nations and to adopt common import duties on goods from
European Economic Community.
the discharge of poisonous fumes and fluids.
a group in society distinguished from and less dominant than the more
numerous majority.
an association of European nations formed in 1993 for the purpose of
achieving political and economic integration.
a long, narrow arm of the sea bordered by steep cliffs, usually formed by
glacial erosion.
international trade free from duties and other governmental restrictions.
the combination of geographic and political factors influencing or a country
or region.
the earth’s internal heat.
a mass of ice formed from snow falling and accumulating over the years and
moving very slowly descending from high mountains as in valley glaciers.
An organisation, foundation or building devoted to particular work.
a country that is entirely made up of one or more islands.
a member of an Islamic people speaking Kurdish (Iranian language) and
dwelling chiefly in Kurdistan.
a horizontal surface of exposed limestone eroded into roughly rectangular
blocks.
Members of European Parliament.
an area of scenic beauty, historical importance owned and maintained by a
national government for the use of the people.
47
any of various awards made annually, beginning in 1901, from funds
originally established by Alfred B. Nobel for outstanding achievement in
physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, and the
promotion of peace.
the number of people living per unit of an area (e.g. per square kilometer)
or the number of people relative to the space occupied by them.
land areas having a relatively flat surface which are raised above adjoining
land or sea.
the are where two tectonic plates meet usually having volcanoes or being
earthquake prone.
a very sharp mountain peak.
the improvement or change of what is wrong, corrupt or unsatisfactory.
is a state with borders where people live and where a government makes
laws and talks to other sovereign states.
the level of subsistence and comfort in everyday life enjoyed by a
community or individual.
a grant or contribution of money.
a canal in NE Egypt, connectingthe Mediterranean and the Red Sea and is
172 km long.
a type of Muslin community which makes up the majority of believers in
Islam.
a disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or
more territorial entities or over the possession or control of land, usually
a formal agreement between two or more states for peace, alliance,
commerce, or other international relations.
A permission allowing a passport holder entry or transit through a country
for a temporary period.
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