# European Union - True or false quiz **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991 "2016-05-17T14:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/1 "2016-05-17T14:03:06Z")
A ComRes Poll for _The Independent_ published in the run up to the In/Out referendum which posed a few true/false questions to Britons has yielded some…interesting results. I want to see if we on the Dope are sharper cookies - so I’ll pose the same questions to your good selves. Nine questions, you gotta say true or false. Ready? No cheating, go with your first response! Q1: The UK pays more into the EU budget than it gets back. Q2: There are 29 countries in the European Union. Q3: UK citizens need a passport to get into another EU country. Q4: The European Parliament meets 12 times a year in Strasbourg and the rest of the year in Brussels. Q5: Most British laws have to be approved by the European Parliament. Q6: The Treasury estimates that if Britain leaves the EU it would cost the average household £4,300 a year by 2030. Q7: The EU has an official anthem. Q8: The EU is responsible for setting taxes in Britain. Q9: The EU has an official army. [The answers, results and source.](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/three-quarters-of-british-people-don-t-know-how-many-countries-are-in-the-eu-a7029546.html) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/2 "2016-05-17T14:28:49Z")
8/9 - not bad, and the missing one was a stupid mistake. Not only did I know that the EU has an anthem, I knew what it was. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/3 "2016-05-17T14:52:56Z")
I got five out of nine correct. What difference it makes whether or not they’ve got an anthem is beyond me, and I didn’t know that Croatia had joined. Big whoop. Regards, Shodan (not a British citizen) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/4 "2016-05-17T14:57:11Z")
Meh … American here who never has to consider this stuff. Four right, five wrong. [spoiler]Q2 is a trick question ,being posed as one off from the actual answer – especially with such a recent entry. Do a lot of Europeans seriously know the correct answer instinctively? Q4 is interesting … knew about Brussels, but not about Strasbourg hosting part-time. How long has that been going on?[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![iljitsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/77aa72/32.png) [@iljitsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iljitsch)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/5 "2016-05-17T15:01:31Z")
Yeah that’s SOP: have countries join under the radar so nobody objects. I really don’t like that. I used to be upset that the Brits where thinking about leaving us. But if they believe all that stupid crap their opportunistic politicians who use this as a way to further themselves and the immoral tabloids tell them, I guess we’ll be better off without them. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/6 "2016-05-17T15:07:45Z")
6/9 here. I thought there was still free passage between European countries, missed on the number of countries, and had no clue there was an official anthem. _O Europa_? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/7 "2016-05-17T15:11:46Z")
Missed on the number of countries and the anthem. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/8 "2016-05-17T15:18:50Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > 6/9 here. I thought there was still free passage between European countries, missed on the number of countries, and had no clue there was an official anthem. _O Europa_? _Ode to Joy_ (instrumental only)Which I think is a good choice. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/9 "2016-05-17T19:18:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > 6/9 here. I thought there was still free passage between European countries, missed on the number of countries, and had no clue there was an official anthem. _O Europa_? Things like anthems are things that countries, especially pseduocountries trying to gain legitimacy, do to be like everyone else so you can assume they’ll have one. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/10 "2016-05-18T08:23:02Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Things like anthems are things that countries, especially pseduocountries trying to gain legitimacy, do to be like everyone else so you can assume they’ll have one. Lots of entities have anthems. FIFA has an anthem. Corporations have anthems. Organizations have anthems. An anthem is basically just a theme song. It’s a desperate reach to suggest that the EU is attempting to achieve legitimacy by having a catchy tune to play before official occasions. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/11 "2016-05-18T12:12:12Z")
I still struggle differentiating England/GB/UK. I got the obvious ones correct. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/12 "2016-05-18T12:25:11Z")
Q. “Brexit” sounds like the noise a GMO frog would make. True!@! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/13 "2016-05-18T15:57:28Z")
American here. I got 7 of 9 right, including all the questions I would consider important. Who the hell cares if the EU has its own anthem or exactly how many times a year the parliament meets in Strasbourg? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2016, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/14 "2016-05-18T21:21:39Z")
I got 7/9 I thought the whole point of the “blue line” at customs was that you didn’t need to show your passport, but apparently you can’t just show any form of ID that identifies you as living in an EU country to use it; it has to be a passport. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/15 "2016-05-19T01:01:29Z")
American and I got all 9 correct …with a little luck. I just assumed someone had decided an anthem mattered. I didn’t know what the Treasury said about the net impact but had seen long term economic impact assessments of backing out of the trade arrangements were negative. Between that and figuring the quiz makers got crafty to have both Q1 and a net loss question in the same poll, I got it right. I couldn’t have guessed the exact number correctly(despite knowing Croatia had joined); I went with high 20s but “not exactly 29” being a wider list of possibilities. I’d still argue the existence of EU battlegroups at best makes Q9 mostly false instead of clearly false, but assumed they were exploiting that to make people appear more ignorant and picked the “right” answer. I might not know the EU all that well but I can game quiz makers.😃 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/16 "2016-05-19T05:08:22Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > 6/9 here. I thought there was still free passage between European countries, There are no border checks between Schengen countries, but the UK elected not to join. > [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > I got 7/9 > > I thought the whole point of the “blue line” at customs was that you didn’t need to show your passport, but apparently you can’t just show any form of ID that identifies you as living in an EU country to use it; it has to be a passport. No, but there’s no official ID in the UK, so British people need a passport. I don’t need a passport to go to the UK, on the other hand, my French identity card will be sufficient In both cases, it’s an UK-specific issue. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/17 "2016-05-19T06:43:56Z")
8/9 with a couple lucky guesses. I got the passport one wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2016, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/18 "2016-05-19T08:28:01Z")
9/9 but then it’s been hard to avoid this stuff recently. What’s really embarrassing - like, can’t look other nations in the eye embarrassing - is that 61% -almost two-thirds FFS - of Brits believe that the EU has to approve most of our laws. It’s a reflection, but not even an accurate one, of decades of claims that most of our laws originate in the EU. But it beggars belief that people could actually think that. Time to end the disastrous democratic experiment. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/19 "2016-05-21T07:38:10Z")
> [@blue\_infinity](#): > > 8/9 with a couple lucky guesses. > > I got the passport one wrong. 7/9 The passport one is worded badly, anyone leaving the UK needs to show their passport but going from one EU country to another a UK passport holder may not have to. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2016, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991/20 "2016-05-21T09:50:40Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > …Time to end the disastrous democratic experiment. Absolutely. So should we go with a Stalin or a Mussolini? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/european-union-true-or-false-quiz/754991.md?page=2)