...The objective of the European Union is both economical and political. The six original founding members (Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands) envisioned an organization of such economic unity, that the threat of another continental war would be nearly impossible to instigate in Europe again. As members of the European Union grew, an idea was formed to enhance the economic cohesiveness of the many member nations. In 1992 the Maastrict Treaty was established to create a universal currency for members of the European Union who wanted to participate (cited in Lynn, 2012, p. 25). Those nations that joined this Eurozone can be seen in Figure 1 as indicated by their blue color. Figure 1 Members who abandoned their national currency in favor of the new "Euro" currency became known as members of the "Eurozone" (Ashton, 2012). By linking a single currency to multiple economic engines, the Euro quickly gained value and popularity. After roughly one decade of existence, the Euro surpassed the par value of the United States dollar in 2003 (Westover, 2011). As financial reserves increasingly switched from dollars to euros, the outlook for the European Union seemed almost guaranteed. Although not perfect, many hailed the creation of this economic machine as brilliant. Never before...
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...countries. But it failed miserably in this role. Initially when the global outlook was rosy, Eurozone countries reaped benefit from it in the form of highly stable currency, low prices and lower interest rates, which ultimately resulted in economic prosperity and rapid growth and development of these economies. But the Eurozone faltered when it faced the global slowdown and mayhem in financial markets all over the world. The more vulnerable nations like Greece, Portugal and Italy which had high debt to GDP ratio, were the first to get affected. Greece borrowing costs increased sharply and there was high level of unemployment. This soon spread to other nations. To prevent these members from defaulting and to keep the euro zone, Germany and France had to intervene. They along with the troika of EU, IMF and ECB made multiple liquidity injections into the weak economies of Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy. Still these nations had to struggle to survive the burden of Eurozone. Eurozone was envisioned to assist its member countries in times of crisis and help them come out of it. But, when the crisis struck, Greece and other countries started looking a way out of the zone. This was the big failure of Eurozone. In spite of the huge financial assistance from Germany and other nations, these countries are still stuttering and there is no solution visible in the near future. The purpose which Eurozone was to serve could not be fulfilled. An entity is tested in the worst of its times. The...
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...Europe is in crisis because it has been living beyond what it can hold up. No single European country is to blame. The entire Eurozone threw economic caution out the window. When Europe was doing just fine, countries in the Eurozone could borrow money cheaply, at low rates of interest. Because of this “cheap” debt the countries were lured by the prospect of economic growth, which lead them to borrow more and more. Eventually the Eurozone had more debt than they could imagine, and just when Europe’s spending spree was veering out of control, rising interest rates came along to end Europe’s spending. There are some factors that may have been the reason as to why Europe is like this such as, cheap debt, rising interest rates, bailouts, investor confidence wavers, key stakeholders tighten their wallets, and austerity stifles growth (Introduction: euro crisis explained). When mentioning cheap debt it means when they were borrowing money at an affordable level and it came time to repay, it wasn’t that affordable anymore. With bailouts, they have been paying large amounts of money to high-risk Eurozone countries. For investor confidence wavers, it means that when investors see that things are not looking to good, they want to take their money elsewhere, so they leave hoping to find more money somewhere else. In the financial sector of the European crisis, there were many different reasons as to why this happened the way it did, but the reasons are few. Some of the reason is the...
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...Case #1: The Euro Zone and Sovereign Debt Crisis - 1 - * Fiscal mismanagement in the 1990s and the following decade; * Various forms of statistical tweaking to meet the criteria for joining the euro zone. To lower the deficit, many government expenses were kept off its official books. To lower inflation, prices for government-supplied goods such as electricity and water were frozen and high-priced items were removed from the consumer price index calculations; * A major part of Greece’s ballooning debt was the government’s inability to collect taxes. Also, wages paid to Greek public sector employees had doubled in the last decade. - 2 - One major consequence of the monetary union was that European banks became more relaxed about holding cross-border debt. This resulted in rapid growth in the banking sector and increased exposure to the deficit countries in southern Europe. To address the sovereign debt crisis, European Stabilization Mechanism (ESM) allowed the European Commission to raise funds by issuing bonds that using its own budget as collateral and then forwarding those funds on to struggling nations. European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) issued bonds and distributed the proceeds to the euro zone countries which in need of the funds. The IMF model determines the interest rate. The advantage is that if one country defaulted, the other countries that were expected to contribute funds to cover the shortfall. The sovereign debt crisis had made Germany...
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...| The Eurozone Crisis | | | ECON 3860Word Count: 1,495 | | The Eurozone Crisis The Eurozone is a combined group of countries using the euro as their only currency. It was created in 1999 and currently consists of 17 countries – not all part of the European Union (Investor Words). Within the Eurozone, the countries follow a monetary policy and controlled by the European Central Bank (in other words, the ECB controlled the supply of the euro within the 17 countries). In an attempt to control government debt levels and deficit spending the Maastricht Treaty was created. As years passed, some countries government deficit began to rise and increased debt levels. By 2010, Greece (3% of the Eurozone) had public debt around 100% of their GDP. In order to lower their debt levels, the Greek government had increased their taxes and their borrowing levels. Solutions for fixing this issue consisted of stronger countries paying off the Greek debt – however not everyone agreed to such methods. Eventually, the value of the euro went down in the exchange markets and other Eurozone countries such as: Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain faced the same problem as Greece. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) donated money to help reduce the amount of debt – however not enough (Krugman, Obstfeld, Melitz, 2011). Since the Eurozone is controlled by monetary rules and does not consist of fiscal union (government collection of tax’s)...
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...the press of a European Union (EU) on the verge of bankruptcy and dissolution. Meanwhile, financial markets backed off from their attacks on the PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) while those porcine countries moved forward with significant reforms, slashing their deficit and debt levels. German growth in the last quarter has driven eurozone growth to above U.S. levels, giving pause to euroskeptics and glee to euroboosters on both sides of the Atlantic. And yet the EU is far from out of the woods. The past two years of global economic upheaval have sorely tested the EU’s Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its crowning achievement, the euro. At base, the problem is simple: the EU is an outlier in political and economic history, and markets do not know what to expect from its unique combination of a single currency and separate nation- states. The eurozone crisis reveals the challenges of the EU’s sui generis political status—no longer a mere collection of nation-states, yet not a fully fledged federal entity. What, then, should we expect for the future of European integration? What does the stillunfolding eurozone crisis mean for the larger geopolitical position of the EU? Absent a crystal ball, any response is necessarily hazy and conjectural. Nevertheless, it is possible to sketch out some significant milestones and signposts that will determine the path of Europe’s future. The critical question is whether the leaders and citizens of Europe are willing...
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...Eurozone crisis: A Brief Assessment In his recent statement before leaving the seventh summit of the G-20, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his worries over the gloomy Eurozone outlook and the way it could further dampen global markets and adversely impact India’s economic growth. The Eurozone jitters have quite recently shown their impact on the country’s currency and caused it to downgrade and touch the lowest level of Rs.56.23 against the $ as on May 30, 2012. The situation in Europe is of particular concern as it accounts for a significant share of the global economy and is also India’s major trade and investment partner. Clearly, the situation in Europe needs major policy attention not just for Europe but for all major global economies, be it the emerging nations or the major developed economies. Eurozone Sovereign Debt Crisis: Background The Eurozone crisis is a term used to describe the soaring debt levels of five of the major Eurozone nations and their inability to pay off a part or whole of this debt that they have accumulated over the recent decades. These five nations including Greece, Portugal, Ireland , Italy and Spain have failed to generate enough growth for their economies to retain the bondholder’s confidence in their ability to hold the guarantee that they promised to deliver. The crisis that blew up has far reaching consequences extending beyond the national boundaries of these five nations painting a gloomy picture for all the major global economies...
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... The Eurozone Debt Crisis Most of the people know how it feels to owe money, even if it is only to a mortgage company, or to a four-year college loan provider. But it is a different matter for an entire nation to be deeply buried in debt and unable to repay it. When a country drowns in debt, the government of that country usually seeks austerity as the major remedy of overcoming its debt crisis. Austerity promotes slow growth, and this actually makes the situation even worse due to the fact that world economy has become more open and integrated. In today’s world, there is no nation that exists in economic isolation. Every countries almost all the economic aspects- its education, health service, industries, service sectors, levels of income, and employment is integrated to the economies of its adjacent countries. This linkage plays a very important role in the global movement of goods and services, labor, investment funds, and technology. That is, when a country defaults on paying its debt, it not only affects the country in default, but also initiates a global economic crisis. In my research paper, I will tell the tale of eurozone debt crisis, which has created a global hysteria in the current world economy. In the research that follows, I will start with a brief history of the eurozone, how did eurozone face the debt crisis, and what might be ahead for the global economy, amid the ongoing European financial crisis. Eurozone is a term designated...
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...THE IDEA OF ETHICS AND THE EUROZONE CRISIS Prepared for: Ms. Homayara L. Ahmed Assistant Professor Prepared by: Bijon Islam (Roll: 21) Faruk Ahmed (Roll: 20) EMBA 14th Batch IBA, Dhaka January 04, 2012 January 04, 2012 Ms. Homayara L. Ahmed Assistant Professor Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka Sub: Term Paper Submission- The Idea of Ethics and the Eurozone Crisis Dear Madam: Thank you for giving us the opportunity for working on such an exciting topic. Looking at the Eurozone crisis from an ethical perspective reveals several insightful and interesting insights including a look into the idea of equality among the member states, financial camouflage practices and the focus on immediate gains both in private sector and at national level. We have tried to map out such factors that have contributed to ethics mismanagement among the euro member states which have finally culminated into the crisis. We hope that you enjoy reading this paper as much as we did writing this and look forward to your views. Please feel free to contact us anytime if you feel the need for any additional support that we may provide. Kind Regards Bijon Islam – Roll 21 (EMBA 14) Faruk Ahmed – Roll 20 (EMBA 14) pg. 1 CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...................................................................................................................................................3 1. A. B. C. D. E. 2. A. B. 3. A. B. C. D. E. F. 4. 5. 6. THE STORY...
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...| The Eurozone Crisis | | | ECON 3860Word Count: 1,495 | | The Eurozone Crisis The Eurozone is a combined group of countries using the euro as their only currency. It was created in 1999 and currently consists of 17 countries – not all part of the European Union (Investor Words). Within the Eurozone, the countries follow a monetary policy and controlled by the European Central Bank (in other words, the ECB controlled the supply of the euro within the 17 countries). In an attempt to control government debt levels and deficit spending the Maastricht Treaty was created. As years passed, some countries government deficit began to rise and increased debt levels. By 2010, Greece (3% of the Eurozone) had public debt around 100% of their GDP. In order to lower their debt levels, the Greek government had increased their taxes and their borrowing levels. Solutions for fixing this issue consisted of stronger countries paying off the Greek debt – however not everyone agreed to such methods. Eventually, the value of the euro went down in the exchange markets and other Eurozone countries such as: Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Spain faced the same problem as Greece. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) donated money to help reduce the amount of debt – however not enough (Krugman, Obstfeld, Melitz, 2011). Since the Eurozone is controlled by monetary rules and does not consist of fiscal union (government collection of tax’s)...
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...Eurozone: Euro Falling? In recent news, many of the Eurozone Financial Ministers met to discuss the value of the Euro, how they will reform the outstanding debt situation within the Eurozone, and how they will respond to strengthen its power. However, discussions have come to a standstill as German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is only looking out for the best interests of her country. She wants those financially irresponsible countries, such as Greece, to reform their ways and is, moreover, concentrating her energy instead on changing Eurozone treaties to allow closer fiscal union and supervision of member nations' budgets, even though analysts have told the Euro-bearing nations that the currency might take a harsh blow from which it will never recover, possibly leading to the complete dissolution of the Euro currency. People are saying that this will only have an effect on Europe, but they are wrong. The official decisions that are made will affect the rest of the world and will either cause Europe to rise up to the occasion or make the world enter another Era of Depression. It is because of these reasons that show Europe’s debt crisis has forestalled market activity; they are implementing characteristics of a mercantilist society, modernizing their economic systems to benefit only themselves, and a globalized economy will occur, whether its one of prosperity or trepidation. Mercantilism which is the economic theory that European governments used serving only their countries’...
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...(The Opinion Pages) Portugal’s Unnecessary Bailout. April 12, 2011) The truth is that Portugal has had an underlying crisis for years but has managed to shift from the global public eye. According to David R. Cameron, professor of Political Science at Yale University, “there has been a recurring imbalance between spending and revenues.” This leads to my first solution, which is to have Portugal abandon their current fiscal policy. This would help cure the numerous “excessive deficits” that they have accumulated since 2002. (Cameron, David. The New York Times. Portugal’s Economy. April 18, 2011.) Like Greece and Ireland, Portugal adopted the euro currency a decade ago meaning that they forfeited their monetary policy. With the current Eurozone crisis that is occurring, my second solution would be to have Portugal revert back to their former...
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...The economic trust in the eurozone is shrinking for a second consecutive month The deterioration of the business environment is another argument for a new rate cut by the ECB The data from the European Central Bank regular research shows that the business environment in the eurozone worsened for a second straight month in April. The index of the economic trust in 17 countries, using euro, fell to 88.6 points this month compared with revised 90.1 points in March. Widespread deterioration. The most alarming signals are coming from Germany, where the pessimism has led to a decrease in the business climate with 2.3 points. The economic trust continues to decline in France and in Italy, which means that the three largest economies in the region cannot provide a basis for a recovery of the growth. Positive news came from Spain where the business environment has improved with almost 1 per cent, although unemployment hit a new record, and the government came up with a worse forecast for economic growth and budget deficit. Steen Jakobsen, main economist of Saxo Bank, said for Reuters that the situation is difficult and the market is already betting on a new reduction of the interests by the ECB to support the economy. He also mentioned that low interest rates will not solve the problems of the Eurozone and there is a need from structural reforms and a renewal in investment by the businesses. Changing the strategy. The sustainability of the German economy and the beginning reforms...
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...economic instability that both caused and was caused by the Euro crisis threatens the further perpetuation of this currency. The onset of the Euro crisis came about when the Greek government admitted to a budget deficit much larger than they had previously divulged. Interest rates skyrocketed and, despite efforts to reduce spending, Greece ultimately fell bankrupt. Concerns over the decline of a state that represents only 2.5% of the EU’s GDP could have been redressed, had it not been for inflexible provisions of the Treaty on European Union. The “no-bailout clause” did not permit the EU or any national governments to undertake the debts of another state, a rational but perhaps detrimental provision in 2010. Moreover, one may argue that the Eurozone was in jeopardy from the start when more than half of its members did not meet the debt limits. The Stability and Growth Pact, an instrument created to monitor these debt limits, was quickly ignored. Even Germany and France, the EU’s most influential members, regularly exceeded deficit allowances and thus smaller states like Greece were able to build debt unchecked (see Appendix A). If the EU had taken more decisive actions in early 2010 to remit significant loans to impose austerity measures on Greece, the world’s confidence may have quickly revived. Instead, Greek bonds were downgraded and investors began to fear the subsequent decline of other southern states. Danger loomed for Spain and Italy as they experienced stagnant productivity...
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...Greece should exit the Eurozone or not. The reasons are the seemingly current inability of Greece to compete within the euro currency, its tremendously high amounts of government debt which is on the verge of default, the inability to pull through with the anticipated austerity measures and the acceleration of the downward spiral of the Greek economy. Up to now, a so-called Grexit has not taken place due to repeated bailouts by the EU, represented by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The debate whether a Grexit should happen in the future is one of importance, as it would not only have many implications on the country itself, but also on the remaining countries in the EU and on the global economy. Many of these implications would affect Greece as well as a majority of other countries negatively and thus the Grexit should be one to prevent. The key points in this context are that firstly, that Greece would suffer greatly from the reintroduction of the drachma due to an immense depreciation and resulting decreasing value of the currency, which would lead to business closures and essentially an increase in poverty. Secondly, the global economy would be affected negatively by a Grexit due to a potential global credit crunch as well as the debt default. Thirdly, there are still measures that can be taken to bring the Greek economy back on track within the Eurozone and these should not...
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