1. The article mentioned France and Germany as members of the European Union. Use any source available to identify the other 10 member countries that use the single euro currency. What difficulties has the EU faced as it has integrated some of the lesser developed nations in Europe?

25 countries participate in the European Union. Only 12 of them use the single currency of the euro, which is managed by the European Central Bank. The complete list of countries using the euro are Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, and Greece.
(Source: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june02/eurocountries.html )

More history of the EU can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU.

2. Why do you think a softening U.S. economy will be a drag on the European Union? Give evidence for your answer.

Policy makers in the Central Bank of Europe are concerned about a slowing of the U.S. economy because it will translate in to fewer exports for EU member countries to the U.S. Analysts are basically pleased with the recent growth of domestic demand in the EU, but it would not be sufficient to off set a large decrease in exports to the U.S. caused by a slowing United States economy. Export demand has always been a significant factor in the growth of the European nations, and it most likely always will be.

Multiple Choice/True False Questions