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  3. Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not

Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not

游客2024-05-20  14
问题     Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not long ago. Now even the project’s greatest cheerleaders talk of a continent facing a "Bermuda triangle" of debt, demographic decline and lower growth.
    As well as those chronic problems, the EU faces an acute crisis in its economic core, the 16 countries that use the single currency. Markets have lost faith that the euro zone’s economies, weaker or stronger, will one day converge thanks to the discipline of sharing a single currency, which denies uncompetitive members the quick fix of devaluation.
    Yet the debate about how to save Europe’s single currency from disintegration is stuck. It is stuck because the euro zone’s dominant powers, France and Germany, agree on the need for greater harmonisation within the euro zone, but disagree about what to harmonise.
    Germany thinks the euro must be saved by stricter rules on borrowing, spending and competitiveness, backed by quasi-automatic (半自动的) sanctions for governments that stray. These might include threats to freeze EU funds for poorer regions and EU mega-projects, and even the suspension of a country’s voting rights in EU ministerial councils. It insists that economic coordination should involve all 27 members of the EU club, among whom there is a small majority for free-market liberalism and economic rigour; in the inner core alone, Germany fears, a small majority favour French interference.
    A "southern" camp headed by France wants something different: "European economic government" within an inner core of euro-zone members. Translated, that means politicians intervening in monetary policy and a system of redistribution from richer to poorer members, via cheaper borrowing for governments through common Eurobonds or complete fiscal transfers. Finally, figures close to the French government have murmured, euro-zone members should agree to some fiscal and social harmonisation: e.g., curbing competition in corporate-tax rates or labour costs.
    It is too soon to write off the EU. It remains the world’s largest trading block. At its best, the European project is remarkably liberal: built around a single market of 27 rich and poor countries, its internal borders are far more open to goods, capital and labour than any comparable trading area. It is an ambitious attempt to blunt the sharpest edges of globalisation, and make capitalism kind and gentle.
    The problem is that the "European social model" has become, too often, a synonym (同义词)for a very expensive way of doing things. It has also become an end in itself, with some EU leaders calling for Europe to grow purely in order to maintain its social-welfare systems. That is a pretty depressing call to arms: become more dynamic so Europe can still afford old-age pensions and unemployment benefits. [br] To solve the euro problem, Germany proposes that______.
选项 A、EU funds for poor regions be increased
B、stricter regulations be imposed
C、only core members be involved in economic co-ordination
D、voting rights of the EU members be guaranteed
答案 B
解析 根据题干中的the euro和Germany将本题出处定位到第4段首句。该句提到，德国认为只有对举债、开销和竞争力方面采取更严格的规则欧元才能得救。对于偏离轨道的国家，还辅之以半自动惩罚措施。[B]“采取更严格的规则”是对该句中的the euro must be saved by stricter rules的同义转述，故为答案。[A]“对贫困区域贷款的增加”和[D]“保证欧盟成员的选举权”都是针对该段第2句出现的“惩罚措施包括威胁冻结欧盟对更贫穷区域的贷款……甚至暂时剥夺一个国家在部长级会议上的投票权”所设的干扰项。[C]“只有核心成员才能参与经济协调”与该段第3句提出的“它坚持主 张经济协调应该涵盖欧盟的27个成员国”的信息相反，故排除。
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