Next Year Marks the EUs 50th Anniversary of the Treaty A. After a period of introversion and stunned self-disbelief, continental European governments will recover their enthusiasm for pan-European institution-building in 2007. Whether the European public will welcome a return to what voters in two countries had rejected so short a time before is another matter. B. There are several reasons for Europes recovering self-confidence. For years European economies had been lagging dismally behind America (to say nothing of Asia), but in 2006 the large continental economies had one of their best years for a decade, briefly outstripping America in terms of growth. Since politics often reacts to economic change with a lag, 2006s improvement in economic growth will have its impact in 2007, though the recovery may be ebbing by then. C. The coming year also marks a particular point in a political cycle so regular that it almost seems to amount to a natural law. Every four or five years, European countries take a large stride towards further integration by signing a new treaty: the Maastricht treaty in 1992, the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, the Treaty of Nice in 2001. And in 2005 they were supposed to ratify a European constitution, laying the ground for yet more integrationuntil the calm rhythm was rudely shattered by French and Dutch voters. But the political impetus to sign something every four or five years has only been interrupted, not immobilised, by this setback. D. In 2007 the European Union marks the 50th anniversary of another treatythe Treaty of Rome, its founding charter. Government leaders have already agreed to celebrate it ceremoniously, restating their commitment to ever closer union and the basic ideals of European unity. By itself, and in normal circumstances, the EUs 50th-birthday greeting to itself would be fairly meaningless, a routine expression of European good fellowship. But it does not take a Machiavelli to spot that once governments have signed the declaration (and it seems unlikely anyone would be so uncollegiate as to veto it) they will already be halfway towards committing themselves to a new treaty. All that will be necessary will be to incorporate the 50th-anniversary declaration into a new treaty containing a number of institutional and other reforms extracted from the failed attempt at constitution-building andhey prestoa new quasi-constitution will be ready. E. According to the German governmentwhich holds the EUs agenda-setting presidency during the first half of 2007there will be a new draft of a slimmed-down constitution ready by the middle of the year, perhaps to put to voters, perhaps not. There would then be a couple of years in which it will be discussed, approved by parliaments and, perhaps, put to voters if that is deemed unavoidable. Then, according to bureaucratic planners in Brussels and Berlin, blithely ignoring the possibility of public rejection, the whole thing will be signed, sealed and a new constitution delivered in 2009-10. Europe will be nicely back on schedule. Its four-to-five-year cycle of integration will have missed only one beat. F. The resurrection of the European constitution will be made more likely in 2007 because of what is happening in national capitals. The European Union is not really an autonomous organisation. If it functions, it is because the leaders of the big continental countries want it to, reckoning that an active European policy will help them get done what they want to do in their own countries. G. That did not happen in 2005-06. Defensive, cynical and self-destructive, the leaders of the three largest euro-zone countriesFrance, Italy and Germanywere stumbling towards their unlamented ends. They saw no reason to pursue any sort of European policy and the EU, as a result, barely functioned. But by the middle of 2007 all three will have gone, and this fact alone will transform the European political landscape. H. The upshot is that the politics of the three large continental countries, bureaucratic momentum and the economics of recovery will all be aligned to give a push towards integration in 2007. That does not mean the momentum will be irresistible or even popular. The British government, for one, will almost certainly not want to go with the flow, beginning yet another chapter in the long history of confrontation between Britain and the rest of Europe. More important, the voters will want a say. They rejected the constitution in 2005. It would be foolish to assume they will accept it after 2007 just as a result of an artful bit of tinkering. Questions 1-6 Do the following statemets reflect the claims of the writer in Reading Passage 1? Write your answer in Boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet. TRUE if the statemenht reflets the claims of the writer FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is possbile to say what the writer thinks about this 1.After years introspection and mistrust, continental European governments will resurrect their enthusiasm for more integration in 2007. 2. The European consitution was officially approved in 2005 in spite of the oppositon of French and Dutch voters. 3. The Treaty of Rome , which is considered as the fundamental charter of the European Union, was signed in 1957. 4.It is very unlikely that European countries will sign the declaration at the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. 5.French government will hold the EUs presidency and lay down the agenda during the first half of 2008. 6.For a long time in hisotry, there has been confrontation between Britain and the rest of European countries.
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:6 并列句和状语从句(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修5 Unit 13《people》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:2 形容词和副词(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:10 名词和主谓一致(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:9 语法填空之动词(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:3 阅读理解之词义猜测(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修3 Unit 8《adventure》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修4 Unit 11《the media》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:8 冠词(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修3 Unit 7《the sea》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修1 Unit 2《heroes》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修2 Unit 5《rhythm》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修5 Unit 14《careers》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修5 Unit 15《learning》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:11 短文改错之细品单词、分析句子(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:2 阅读理解之态度观点判断(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:9 代词和介词(短语)(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:12 非谓语动词(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:选修7 Unit 20《new frontiers》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:12 短文改错之通读全文纠正逻辑错误(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:13 写作之提纲作文(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:8 完形填空之固定搭配、词语辨析(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:7 完形填空之联系上下文(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习模拟演练:7 特殊句式(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修4 Unit 10《money》(含解析)
【师说】2017届高考英语二轮复习天天增分训练:30(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:10 语法填空之形容词、副词、介词(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:必修2 Unit 6《design》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习单元限时规范练:选修6 Unit 16《stories》(含解析)
2017届高考北师大版英语二轮复习专题技能突破:1 阅读理解之细节理解(含解析)
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