It's not EU, it's me! Quiz | Government

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Imagine if the government of this country could not decide if they wanted to leave the EU or not. However, they might come up with this nifty catchphrase if they did. The word was "Czech-Out. Where did the Chamber of Deputies sit to make this decision?

Answer: Prague

Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic. The Czech parliament has two houses with the lower house being the seat of the Chamber of Deputies situated at Thun Palace in Mal� Strana, Prague.

The Poles sitting in Warsaw came up with "Noland" and "Polskedaddle".
Budapest being the capital of Hungary came up with the exit strategy buzzword of "Full"
The Austrian government sitting in Vienna, couldn't decide on a catchphrase to leave the EU let alone decide if they wanted to leave. They were undecided between "Outstria", "Austria la Vista" (Note the Schwarzenegger connection) and "Ousterreich".

2. The Chamber of Representatives in this country might have presented two names to its Senate for consideration of exit names should they decide to leave the EU. The devised names were "Byegium" and "Beljump". Where was this government sitting when this piece of legislation was considered?

Answer: Brussels

The Belgian Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium and sits in the Palace of the Nation in Brussels, the capital city of Belgium. Antwerp is the most populous city (though the metropolitan area of Brussels is larger) and is the capital of Antwerp province in the region of Flanders.

Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands but the parliament sits in The Hague where they came up with their own buzzwords for exit strategies from the EU: "Neverlands", "Nevermind" and "Ditch".

3. The Baltic States, whilst fiercely independent, seem to address their politics as a bloc. All three parliaments might come up with their own EU exit buzzwords. Which one of these does not pertain to a Baltic State?

Answer: Helsink-hole, Finish

The three Baltic States are Lithuania ("Lithawaynia"), Latvia ("Lat-me-out", "Latervia") and Estonia ("Egresstonia", "Extonia"), making Finland ("Helsink-hole, Finish") the odd one out. Culturally, Estonia identifies with Scandinavia, particularly with Finland where their respective languages have a common ancestry.

However the bond of the Baltics is strong. Just prior to independence from Russia in 1991, the three countries' people form a human chain 640km long from Vilnius, Lithuania's capital to Tallinn, Estonia's capital.

They sang folk songs protesting their need for independence from the larger country.

4. One small European island nation might come up with a very neat word to describe its potential exit from the EU - "NicoSeeYa". Which country would this represent?

Answer: Cyprus

The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia, hence "NicoSeeYa". Cyprus has had a troubled past. Being under British administration since 1878, it had a large Greek population despite it being very close to Turkey. It became a republic in 1961 but Turkey holds the northern part of the island (36% land total) but this is not recognised by the UN or the EU. It joined the European Union on 1 May 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2008.

Crete is a Mediterranean island that belongs to Greece.

Sicily and Corsica are islands in the Mediterranean but they belong to Italy and France respectively.

5. Shock waves would be felt around the world if this country decided to have an EU exit strategy. Some observers believed this was the most powerful country within the EU. Its buzzwords (they were never going to stop at one) might have included "Berlout"; "Deutschleave"; and "Angeleave Merkel". Which country was this?

Answer: Germany

West Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957. After unification in 1990 the 're-joined' country was seen to be an extension of West Germany, not a successor state. Germany became a founding member of the European Union in 1993. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone (Euro common currency) in 1999. It has the largest population of any country in the EU and along with France is considered the most influential amongst EU member states.
Angela Merkel was elected Chancellor in 2005. This position is the head of government and is the equivalent of Prime Minister in other countries.
If Germany ever pulled out of the EU, it would be unlikely to survive. Just as well this quiz is hypothetical.

6. In 1957, six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, which created the European Economic Community. Which, from the options below does *NOT* represent possible EU exit strategy buzzwords from one of the original six countries?

Answer: Departugal, Portugo

Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany were the original six countries that signed the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Corresponding EU Exit buzzwords match as follows:
France: Oui out, Frexit
Italy: Italeave, Out-aly
Luxembourg: Luxdisembark, Luxgetouttahere
The other three "originals" have their EU exit strategy buzzwords located elsewhere in this quiz.

Departugal, Portugo are obviously connected to Portugal which is now an integral member of the EU, being one of the first countries to join after the original six: In 1973, Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom joined. Greece joined in 1981. Spain and Portugal followed in 1986.
Portugal played a key role in the development of the EU: On 1 December 2009, Portugal was the host country as the Lisbon Treaty was signed and implemented making the EU a single legal entity and created a permanent President of the European Council.

7. If Switzerland wanted to get onto the bandwagon, it might come up with "Splitzerland". Why would this move to exit the EU be unnecessary?

Answer: Switzerland has never been part of the EU

Switzerland has fought to maintain its neutrality. The Swiss independence can be traced back to its independence from the Holy Roman Empire which was recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. It has not been in any armed conflict since 1815 and it has maintained this neutrality by not joining the EU.

It is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association, and it participates in the Schengen Area (passport control).

8. Malta is a sovereign island state in the Mediterranean Sea. It fought hard to become part of the EU but even it might wish to consider buzzwords should an exit strategy be on the cards. Which word does *NOT* fit?

Answer: Madridance

Malta's strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea has meant it has had a series of rulers including Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Moors, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, French and British.
The country became a republic in 1974. Malta was admitted to the United Nations in 1964, the EU in 2004; and became, like Malta part of the Eurozone in 2008.

The only option that does not fit into a word to describe the potential Maltese exit strategy from the EU is "Madridance". Given the capital of Spain is Madrid, you can see the connection for the Spanish EU exit.

9. Oh no, this exit strategy has gone viral! Now the American states are developing plans to secede from the union - or at least divising Exit Strategy buzzwords. Look at "Illinomore"; "Delawegone"; "Wiscon-sayonara" and "New M-exit-o". As these decisions would be made in the various states legislatures, in which cities would they be made?

Answer: Springfield, Dover, Madison, Santa Fe

Since the American Civil War, not one state has seceded from the United States. Indeed there is a call for Puerto Rico to be made the 51st state.

It is however, impossible to secede from the union. In 2012, 125 0000 Texans signed a petition to secede from the Union. In response to that petition Jon Carson from the Obama administration wrote "Our founding fathers established the Constitution of the United States 'in order to form a more perfect union' through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government ...They enshrined in that document the right to change our national government through the power of the ballot -- a right that generations of Americans have fought to secure for all. But they did not provide a right to walk away from it."

In 2006, Justice Antonin Scalia said "If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede..."

What is interesting about US state capitals is that out of 50 states, the biggest city and the state capital only coincides 18 times. Of course when you consider the associated metropolitan area, the figure changes somewhat. Of 10 US cities that have a population of over a million, only one, Phoenix (1.44 million - 2010 census) is a state capital. The second is Indianapolis which is 14th largest overall and had a population in the 2010 census of 820 000.

10. Despite all the hyperbole and hysteria generated by this frenzy to develop buzzwords to describe an exit plan from the EU, just imagine if one steadfast European nation decided to remain within the EU. In fact, just by changing one letter and adding a vowel to its name, it could demonstrate this resolve. The new name would be Remainia. Where would the legislators sit who made this decision?

Answer: Bucharest

The Parliament of Romania consists of the Chamber of Deputies, and the Senate. Its meeting place is at the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. In 2009 a referendum was was passed to change the parliament into a unicameral body and reduce the number of representatives to 300.

However it was not legally binding and a change to modify the constitution (which is actually what was required) was never presented to the Romanian public. Since the collapse of the cold war, The Romanian parliament has been tumultuous but with the acceptance into NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007, stability has prevailed.

In the second decade of the 21st century, the economy has been described as "the Tiger of Eastern Europe". Clearly Romania has become a much better country under the stewardship of the EU.

Source: Author 1nn1

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

It's not EU, it's me! Trivia Quiz

In 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union, and the word "Brexit" ("British Exit") entered the lexicon. But what if other EU governments had to devise their own EU exit strategies? (This quiz has its tongue firmly in its anthropomorphic cheek).

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