Europe and the world
Europa und die Welt
You will understand what the EU is, how the European Parliament works, how Schengen and the euro differ, which countries border Germany and how the Cold War divided Europe.
The European Union and how it began
The European Union (Europäische Union), short EU, is a union of many European countries. The member states decide many common matters together. The process in which European countries move closer together is called European integration (europäische Integration).
The basis of this cooperation was laid in 1957 by the Treaties of Rome (Römischen Verträge). These treaties created the European Economic Community (Europäischen Wirtschaftsgemeinschaft (EWG)). The Federal Republic of Germany was one of the founding states.
An important aim of the EU is peace and security (Frieden und Sicherheit) among its member states. The two world wars caused great suffering in Europe. French and German leaders therefore honoured the dead together, for example at Verdun. This gesture shows the wish to live together in peace.
At the time of this exam edition, the EU has 27 member states (Mitgliedstaaten).
The European Parliament
The European Parliament (Europäischen Parlaments) represents the citizens of the EU countries. Citizens elect its members (Abgeordnete) in the European election (Europawahl). People do not elect the European Commission (Europäische Kommission), and they do not elect a constitution.
The European Parliament is elected regularly, every 5 years (5 Jahre).
The European Parliament does not work in only one place. One seat of the Parliament is in Strasbourg (Straßburg). The Parliament works in three places: Strasbourg (Straßburg), Luxembourg (Luxemburg) and Brussels (Brüssel).
The EU in everyday life
The Schengen Agreement (Schengener Abkommen) means that people can travel between many European countries without a passport check (Passkontrolle). This applies to many countries, not to every country in the world. It also does not mean that everyone may enter Germany without any check.
The euro (Euro) is a separate matter. In Germany, people have paid in euro cash (in bar) since 2002. The Schengen Agreement says nothing about currency.
The flag of the EU is also a common symbol: a circle of stars on a blue background. Look closely at the pictures in the question about the flag of the European Union (Flagge der Europäischen Union) to recognise it.
Germany's neighbours
Germany lies in the middle of Europe and has nine neighbouring countries (Nachbarland). They are Denmark (Dänemark), Poland (Polen), the Czech Republic (Tschechien), Austria (Österreich), Switzerland (Schweiz), France (Frankreich), Luxembourg (Luxemburg), Belgium and the Netherlands.
Besides Germany, Austria (Österreich) also has a large German-speaking (deutschsprachig) population.
The Cold War and German unification
After the Second World War, Europe was split into two blocs. West and East stood against each other. This period is called the Cold War (Kalten Krieg). The phrase Iron Curtain (Eiserner Vorhang) meant that the states of the Warsaw Pact (Warschauer Pakt) sealed themselves off from the West.
The GDR (DDR) belonged to the Eastern bloc. Militarily, the GDR was a member of the Warsaw Pact (Warschauer Pakt), not of NATO.
In 1990, the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany. This event is generally called German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung).