"Europe must prevent Greece from becoming an out-and-out catastrophe and make sure that the same fiscal 'remedy' is not applied to other weak economies" -- MEP, Franziska Brantner.
The Greek economy has seen a large collapse following the recent worldwide recession. The European Union has expressed concerns for the impact that Greece’s economic collapse will negatively affect other member nations. Greece and the European Union are working to reduce the Greek deficit and to contain the economic crisis to Greece.
In order to be a member of the European Union, an applying nation must first meet the requirements of membership as described in the Copenhagen Criteria. There are geographic, democratic and economic criteria. Geographically, the applying nation must be classified as a European nation, as exemplified by Morocco’s rejection. The applying nation must also have a secure and functional democratic government that only acts in accordance with the law. This means that any citizen should be able participate in the political system and that there are free elections with a secret ballot. The government must also respect human rights and have protection policies for minorities, meaning that a persons’ inalienable rights are protected by law and minority groups can retain their culture and language without discrimination. Economically, a country must have a functional market economy on which it can feasibly support itself and other member nations if need be. The country’s economy needs to be able to compete on a global scale and deal with economic pressures. There are also separate guidelines for countries wanting to convert to the Euro. Finally, countries that want to join must agree to uphold laws and regulations t...
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...ntertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. Gannet Co., 3 May 2010. Web. 30 May 2011. .
Walker, Bruce. "Euro Likely to Keep Losing Value." The New American. The New American Magazine, 7 July 2010. Web. 23 May 2011. .
Wallop, Harry. "Greece: Why Did Its Economy Fall so Hard? - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group Limited, 28 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 May 2011. .
"What Requirements Must Countries Meet to Become Members of the EU?" EU Requirements. Folketingets EU-Oplysning. Web. 20 May 2011. .
The European Union has been helped economically ever since World War II. Right after World War II’s end, Europe was struggling to hold on. The countries of the modern-day European Union thought it would be a good idea to come together and help each others struggling economy. To this day, this decision has had a very positive outcome on the EU’s economy. As shown in Diagram 1, the European Union combined together has the world’s highest GDP at 18.3 Trillion USD as compared to the United States’ 17.4 Trillion USD GDP and China’s 10.4 Trillion USD GDP. The idea
Yeager, Leland B. "The Euro Facing Other Moneys." Cato Journal (2004): 27-40. Academic Search Complete.
This financial crisis has caused great problems to Greece, primarily but not limited to an increase in poverty, unemployment and inequality. Greece’s decline started in 2001 when they joined the Euro. From the beginning, Greece never satisfied the criteria of the Maastricht Treaty. The treaty, which forms the basis of European Union selection standards, utilized a set of criteria that a country would have to gratify in order to participate in the Euro. “Countries were required to have annual budget deficits not exceeding 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), public debt under 60 percent of GDP, inflation rates within 1.5 percent of the three lowest inflation rates in the EU, and exchange-rate stability” . In particular, Greece’s public debt ratio was at the value of 126.4% of GDP. Many records and interviews show that Goldman Sachs and its president Gary D. Cohne assisted Greece by “fixing” the books and formulating some transactions that eventually resulted in Greece suspiciously filling all the requirements and joining the Eurozone . This “immoral” decision to join the Euro, while having an economy that couldn’t support this position, created another greater need for loans. Greece needed the funds to keep the economy running while the “strong” neighboring countries needed Greece to have a healthy economy. Without a second thought, many members and institutions of the
Greece." Journal Of Critical Studies In Business & Society 3.1 (2012): 12-39. Business Source Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
McCormick, John, and Jonathan Olsen. The European Union: Politics and Policies. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2014. Print.
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
Thomassen, J. 2009. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. In: Thomassen, J. Eds. The Legitimacy of the European Union after Enlargement. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 67-86.
At present there are twenty-eight member states within the European Union, most of which play a crucial part in the unions overall success. Although during the past decade five countries have made an application to become EU members, none have waited to join as long as Turkey has. Turkey have been applicants to join the European Union since 1987 and although many believe that they have proven they are stable and could bring positives to Europe, there are still those who think otherwise. This essay will explore whether or not Turkey should be allowed to join the EU or has their past and current reputation began to hinder this. This essay will also discuss the public and political disputes surrounding the matter.
Michelis, L. (2011). The Greek Debt Crisis: Suggested Solutions and Reforms. The Rimini Centre Economic Analysis (RECEA), Italy.
The Maastricht Treaty states that any European country can apply for membership, provided that it observes the EU democratic values and principles and it strives to promote them. More precisely, a country can join the EU only if it meets all the accession criteria: political – democracy, rule of law, human rights - , economic – market economy, free competition - and judicial – respect of EU legislation. The accession process consists of three steps: prospect of accession, official application for membership, official negotiations (internal reform process). Once the negotiations and reforms have successfully and satisfactorily been carried through from both sides, the country can join the EU, prior to common agreement from all existing member states. Presently, the EU has offered a prospect of accession to eight countries: Albania, Turkey, Iceland and all the ex-Yugoslavia countries (except for Slovenia and Croatia, already members); however, only five of them have already acquired the official candidate status: Turkey, Serbia, Macedonia, Iceland and Montenegro.
In a sense, fiscal austerity or an exit scenario is the alternative to accepting differentiated government bond yields within the Eurozone. If Greece does not leave Euro currency by accepting higher bond yields, then high interest will decrease demand, raise savings and slow the economy.[11]
The Greek crisis is a result of an accumulation of dire policy mistakes. It all began when the previous Greek governments decided not to reveal their debts and deficits in order to fulfill the necessary requirements for the membership of the Eurozone. Furthermore, the government consisted of mass tax evasion as well as corruption. In 2009, the newly elected Greek government decided to expose the real debt and deficits’ figures, which brought much speculative waves regarding the economy. At the moment (since 2010) a number of organizations and countries are providing the Greek state with assistance in regards to alleviating their government debt. International organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund and the European Governing body, the European Union, are undergoing a set of policies designed to assist Greece in its debt crisis. One of the main supporters of the Greek economy is German...
“From time to time it is worth reminding ourselves why twenty-seven European nation states have come together voluntarily to form the partnership that is the European Union.” 1
In conclusion, I would assume that the economy crisis in Greek will not end quickly. The worst of Greek economy may probably be over, but the recovery will still need some years. The governments are still attempting to solve the economic crisis and the population are still attempting to seek for work. Greece debt issue and unemployment should start to fall in 2014, and may even have economic growth by the end of 2014. And if the tax dodger would not avoid paying their taxes, the economy condition may recover a lot faster.
Weiler, Joseph H.H.: «Community, Member States and European Integration: Is the Law Relevant?», Journal of Common Market Studies 21 (1982), pp. 39-56.