Europe Quiz 2021: Hot European Union Trivia

Serbia is not a part of the European Union. Yet. On Dec. 14, 2021, Serbia was permitted to open talks on climate change and environment, energy, transport policy, and trans-European infrastructure networks – a significant step towards joining the European Union. Membership talks began in 2014. Countries wanting to join the European Union must uphold laws and regulations in line with the EU’s standards in 35 policy chapters, ranging from free movement to economic policy.

What’s holding Serbia from joining the EU?

As EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi put it, “Serbia’s progress on the rule of law and the normalization of relations with Kosovo remains essential for the overall pace of accession negotiations.” Serbia refuses to recognize the statehood of its former province, which unilaterally declared independence in 2008.

The EU includes 16 nations that have legalized same-sex marriage, compared to about 30 countries overall in the world. The European Court of Justice ruled Dec. 14, 2021 that a child with two mothers certified in one EU nation must also be recognized by the other EU members as such – even if that country doesn’t allow same-sex marriage.

Google News closed in Spain in late 2014 in response to legislation that forced it to pay a collective licensing fee to republish headlines or snippets of news.

Is Google News returning to Spain?

Spain has adopted the European Union copyright directive that allows third-party online news platforms to negotiate directly with content providers on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The EU legislation requires platforms such as Google, Facebook, and others to share revenue with publishers.

When is Google News returning to Spain?

On Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021, Alphabet said it plans to reopen its Google News service in Spain in early 2022.

Little Amal is a giant puppet of a nine-year-old Syrian girl. Since July 2021, the 3.5 meter-tall artwork has walked 8,000km to support refugees in Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and the UK. The complex 14-week traveling street theatre ends its international walk in Manchester on Nov. 3, 2021.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had remained at the top spot of Forbes Magazine’s The World’s Most Powerful Women list since 2006, except for 2010 when the former U.S First Lady Michelle Obama temporarily replaced her, including the last ten years in a row. That’s a total of 14 years at the top of the list.

Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic sparked a supply chain crisis in the United Kingdom during 2021, leading to scarcities of goods, including McDonald’s milkshakes, Nando’s chicken, and the Marmite breakfast spread.

UK Beer Shortage News

Some pubs in the UK are experiencing “supply problems,” as a spokesman for pub chain Wetherspoon said Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. The beer shortage has been attributed to the ongoing lack of 100,000 truck drivers around the country to transport goods, a problem sparked by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. On Sept. 25, the British Department for Transport said that 5,000 fuel tanker and food truck drivers would be allowed to work in the country for three months before Christmas to provide relief for the industry.

The highest temperature ever officially recorded on the European continent is 48 degrees Celsius (118.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in 1977 in Athens, but this record may have been broken in 2021.

Highest Temperature Recorded in Europe News Fact

The highest temperature in European history appears to have been recorded in Italy during a heatwave sweeping the country, with early reports published Aug. 11, 2021, suggesting a high of 48.8C (119.85F). If the World Meteorological Organisation accepts this, it will break the previous 1977 European record.

Norway’s women’s beach handball team was fined by the European Handball Federation on Monday, July 19, 2021, after players wore shorts, instead of the required bikini bottoms, during a game over the weekend.

Handball sportswear fact

The International Handball Federation requires women to wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg.” The sides of the bikini bottoms must be no more than four inches. On the other hand, men can wear shorts as long as four inches above their knees as long as they are “not too baggy.”

The Dutch town of Venlo, the Belgian town of Pepinster, and the Austrian town of Kufstein were all severely damaged during the floods of July 17, 2021 – the same floods that hit the Ahrweiler area in western Germany.

In mid-June 2021, Hungary’s parliament passed a law banning sharing information with under-18s that the government considers promoting homosexuality or gender change. The law also means only individuals and organizations listed in an official register can carry out sex education classes in schools.

How did other EU countries react?

Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, and Ireland were among European Union countries condemning Hungary for the new anti-LGBTQ law. In total, 16 member states out of 27 voiced their disapproval of the Hungarian law. Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg authored a joint declaration condemning Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as violating the right to freedom of expression and a “flagrant form of discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

Queen Margrethe II is the queen of Denmark.

Denmark fact:

The queen of Denmark, Germany’s president, and other dignitaries from the two countries marked the centennial of Denmark’s reunification Sunday, June 13, 2021. Denmark’s reunification day commemorates June 15, 1920, when Danish King Christian X brought the South Jutland region back into Denmark. The area had been under German rule for 56 years.