...This essay will talk about what is currently going in Europe with the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis and the fiscal state the European Union is in, it is important and interesting because it is still current affairs and there are various factors and decisions that have helped the path that the crisis is going in, this essay will look at the crisis but on the implications and problems that European union face as well as what they have faced already and whether the European Central Bank are doing enough to improve the situation and what their plans are for the future. A sovereign bond serves as a floor for interest rates banks charged for loans and for the pricing of other financial contracts and securities. The global financial crisis led to the deterioration of government budgets and finances as nations utilized public expenditures to provide stability and stimulus. The Eurozone suffered because of heavy borrowing practices, property pebbles and living above their means. The Eurozone debt crisis started because Greece who had borrowed heavily in international capital markets over the past decade were turned against by investors this is because Greece in 2009 admitted that they had double the amount of debt that was allowed in the Eurozone limit. Ratings agencies started to downgrade Greek bank and government debt, and there was fear of Greece defaulting and not being able to pay back its debts but the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou insisted otherwise however this was...
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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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...across the globe. Despite the progress it has made, challenges arising from economic crisis faced globally recently have created doubts on its sustainability. Slow response on the economic crisis has revealed the financial crisis experienced due to the structural and institutional design of the body. The probable economic responses have also created doubts on the political and social stability of the Euro Zone (Cameron, 2014). The aim of this study is to discuss the future of Eurozone by looking at the sustainability of the Euro Zone and the impact economic downturns in some member states has on the body. The start of Greece debt crisis in 2010 further cast more doubt on the sustainability of the Euro Zone. These concerns were also raised on the poor fiscal performance of other member states such as Portugal, Spain, Italy and Ireland. The debt problems faced by these countries created a high risk on the European banking systems. It also leads to doubts on the viability of euro and sustainability of Eurozone (Ahearn, Jackson, Mix, & Nelson, 2012). It was then noted that one of the major causes of the crisis experienced was the design of the euro currency and the provision by the European and Monetary Union for a common central bank (the European Central Bank). The common central bank is associated with common monetary policy, but member states have to come up with their fiscal policy. This lead to little impact of the European Central Bank in its bid to make...
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...euro-zone crisis – causes, the crisis and reformation policies (with special reference to greece) the euro-zone ‘The Eurozone’ is the nickname commonly used to describe the member states that use the EU’s single currency, the Euro. The idea of creating a single currency for the European Community was first mentioned in the 1970 Werner report, which led to the establishing of the European Monetary System (EMS), the forerunner of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The Maastricht Treaty (1992) made EMU a part of EU law and set out a plan to introduce the single currency (the Euro) by 1999. The Maastricht Treaty also established certain budgetary and monetary rules for countries wishing to join the EMU (known as the convergence criteria). In 1998, 11 member states (Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Austria and Finland) undertook the final stage of EMU when they adopted a single exchange rate, which was set by the European Central Bank (Britain, Sweden and Denmark negotiated an opt-out from this final states of EMU). The new Euro notes and coins were launched on 1 January 2002. There are currently 16 EU states in the Eurozone. Greece joined the initial 11 members in 2001, Slovenia joined in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, and Slovakia joined in 2009. Estonia is due to join the Eurozone in 2011. All future members of the EU must adopt the Euro when they fulfil the convergence criteria. Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) ...
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...statement: ‘Geopolitical crises and epidemics haven’t stopped the global economy from expanding by some 3 percent in 2014. However, the Eurozone will remain the world economy’s main problem, with growth in the single-currency bloc expected to be negligible. Problems in some of the Eurozone’s big economies are worrying analysts. The situation in Italy, for instance, is quite dramatic, with the economy stagnating. In France, high public deficits are a big worry; such a policy could not be continued for much longer. Underperforming fellow Eurozone nations could affect Germany’s own economic growth prospects, since they are the customers for most of Germany’s exports; it is expected that Germany’s gross domestic product will expand by just 1 percent in 2015. Despite the evident problems in Eurozone, Germany and France are determined to restore a confidence to the Euro.’ Discuss the statement, and use examples to justify your opinion. 1.0 Introduction The Global Financial Crisis or the ‘great recession’ as it is now known has been widely regarded as the worst global recession since the end of the Great Depression (Drezner, 2014). The events following the collapse of the US housing market and the subsequent financial meltdown has had consequences on a global scale, nowhere is this more evident than in the Eurozone (Allen & Ngai, 2012). The Eurozone, made up of 19 EU member states that have adopted a common currency and monetary policy, have faced increasing levels of public...
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...Monetary Fund (IMF), commonly referred to as the ‘troika’, in May 2010 (Gemenis & Nezi 2015; Tseronis 2014). Afterwards, Greece required a second bailout programme in February 2012 and an agreement that led to a third bailout after marathon negotiations, on 13th July 2015. The aim of this essay is not only to describe and analyse how Greece reached a third bailout but also to investigate if this programme could be the end of the Greek and euro crisis. It is divided into three main sectors: the first one is about the previous bailout programmes as well as the reasons for their failure. The second one analyses the present crisis, the new bailout framework and its current effects in Greece. The last one illustrates the future for both Greece and the Eurozone, provided that the programme is implemented by the Greek government, and the dangers, which still exist, of torpedoing this new programme. Although the new bailout comprises immensely tough austerity measures, it...
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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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...Greece, and Spain (PIIGS) have each been in the media spotlight in recent years as attempts to rescue their respective financial markets are implemented. Unfortunately, many efforts made by Eurozone member states and other international actors have failed in alleviating the financial stresses of the region. Considering this, then, is there really a permanent solution that can not only relieve financial markets but also prevent the crises from spreading? To date, the European Unions’ collective response up to this point has been insufficient in order to curb the further slide into Europe’s second recession. I contend, then, that Europe and the Euro would greatly benefit from following many if not all of Germany’s internal budgetary constraints in order to fix the overall problem of debt and spending. One of original intentions of the euro when it was established in 1992 was to limit the amount of budget deficit a sovereign member state could have. Furthermore, the euro was designed to prevent a “bailout” should a state be unable to meet its debt obligations. Consequently, the euro indirectly served as a scare tactic for member states to “pay their bills” or face a default. However, as the credit boom of 2003 – 2007 fueled sky-rocketing prices on homes, bonds, and other commodities, Eurozone states confidently increased spending. Unfortunately, spending was done almost completely on credit and revenue speculation....
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...agricultural sector consists only 3% of the national economic output. Greece has a high standard of living, its GDP per capita is about two-thirds of the largest European economies. Greece entered the eurozone in 2000, before 2009, Greece had 14 years of consecutive economic growth. However, since 2009 Greece has been experiencing a recession. The recession was caused from debt accumulating from government borrowing and spending, and not enough tax revenues. Since Greece is part of the Eurozone, it must abide by the European Union’s requirements such as, the government budget deficit cannot exceed 3% and the debt to GDP ratio cannot exceed 60%.Greece has had an inflation rate above 4% and budget deficit of 6-10% of GDP, with the highest being 15/7% in 2010. The debt to GDP of Greece exceed 60% in 2012, it was 70.3 higher. As a result, Greece has implement contractionary fiscal policies to help control its inflation and budget deficits. As the Greek economy undergoes an extended period of economic and political turmoil, bold and committed policy actions were critically needed to restore fiscal sustainability, enhance labor market flexibility, and tackle systemic corruption. As shown in the Greek debt comparison to Eurozone average graph, Greece’s debt is higher than the average in the Eurozone. Greece agreed for a €11.5 billion in spending cuts and a revenue increase of €2 billion from increased taxes. The use of contractionary fiscal policies, raising tax rates and cutting spending...
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...Question 1 Export-oriented countries such as Singapore face substantial economic risks from the Eurozone crisis. Discuss your views on the above statement.[10 marks] Eurozone - Since early 2010, the Eurozone has been going through a tedious debate over the resolving of its homegrown crisis, now the “euro zone crisis”. Started from Greece followed by Ireland, Portugal, Spain and then Italy, these Eurozone economies went through a downgrade of their sovereign debt rating, stress of default and a drastic rise in borrowing cost. Fellow Eurozone economies and the future of Euro have been threatened by these developments. Forced to do what it takes, the Eurozone economic disaster is unlikely to return to business as usual soon on its own. (Timeline, 2012) Gross Domestic Product - The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of final goods and services produced in the market, in a fixed duration within a country. It is calculated based on total consumption expenditure, government spending, and domestic investment, adding the value of exports, subtracting the value of imports. The GDP is a coincident indicator. An increase or decrease in the GDP is a strong indicator of a country’s economic health. Based on the above, countries heavily dependent on export demand from Europe would face a sharp drop in their value of exports, for example, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Malaysia. Mathematically, a decline in total export value leads a drop...
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...Greece may no longer be able to roll over its maturing debt obligations. Some analysts have discussed the possibility of a Greek default. To avoid such a default, however, the Greek government has introduced a variety of austerity measures and, on April 23, 2010, formally requested financial assistance from the other 15 European Union (EU) member states that use the euro as their national currency (the Euro zone) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Greece’s debt crisis has raised a host of questions about the merits of the euro and the prospects for future European integration, with some calling for more integration and others less. Some have also pointed to possible problems associated with a common monetary policy but diverse national fiscal policies. This report provides an overview of the crisis; outlines the major causes of the crisis, focusing on both domestic and international factors; examines how Greece, the Eurozone members, and the IMF have responded to the crisis; and highlights the broader implications of Greece’s debt crisis, . Greece’s Debt Crisis: Background Build-Up to the Current Crisis During the decade...
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...1. In Greece the banks didn’t sink the country. The country sank the banks. Discuss this view. Which are the main differences between the Greek crisis and the crisis of Ireland and Portugal? The main cause of the Greek crisis is the ongoing disclosure of statistics that were well hidden from the eyes of the public, leaving people in ignorance about their own country and the future. When the figures started to become revealed, breaking up the shocking news about the forgery that lasted for over 30 years, it left the world in wonder – how is it possible to disclose such a thing for so long, and how is it possible that such action remains unpunished? The problems caused by the global recession were compounded by revelations that national statistics had been altered in order to cover the fact that Greece, in terms of debt levels, exceeded limits set down by the EU. The country's debt is already well over 100 percent of GDP and is still rising. According to euro zone rules, total government debt should not exceed 60 percent of GDP. The country's budget deficit in 2009 was almost 13 percent of GDP, more than four times the 3 percent limit allowed in the euro zone. But beyond the debt there is more deficit. What Greeks did when they got all this borrowed money, they gave away incredible sums to citizens, raised the wages to such an extent that it created a serious budget deficit. Inefficient Government? Corrupted mentality? Call it as you like, but it caused consequences that citizens...
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...This, in turn, offers opportunities for economic stability, higher growth and more employment – outcomes of direct benefit to EU citizens. In practical terms, EMU means: * Coordination of economic policy-making between Member States * Coordination of fiscal policies, notably through limits on government debt and deficit * An independent monetary policy run by the European Central Bank (ECB) * The single currency and the euro area The launch of the euro saw the creation of a two-tier Europe, but systemic defects led subsequently to the current crisis of the Eurozone, resulting in a much more complex and problematic set of core-periphery relations between north and south. The preeminent role of Germany in the north is pointing to the lack of democratic legitimacy in the whole construction. The idea of creating a banking union and fiscal union is in principle aimed at restoring unity to the Eurozone and ensuring its effectiveness. While negotiations over the banking union are ongoing, the recent fiscal innovations are not even approaching the constitution of a sustainable fiscal union. A more federalistic fiscal structure is needed, but this demands major political leadership. Official doctrine...
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...advisory strategy like austerity, reducing public spending…, Greece situation did not improved. To help Greece improve its situation, the IMF and Eurozone governments sealed a deal for two bailouts in 2010 and 2012, totalling €240 billion. On July 5, 2015 the majority of Greek citizens voted to reject the Europe’s plan to bail out the country’s economy, which caused the fear about the potential exit from the European Union, Greece’s future and world economy as well. Despite that fact, Eurozone leaders still reached an agreement on a third bailout programme to save Greece from bankruptcy on July 13. Although Greece overcame the severe situation, there is no indicator that the crisis will stop. This essay will discuss Greek situation involving 3 main issues, which are mistakes leading to crisis, financial regulation and the role of banks, potential financial contagion and moral hazard. Discussion: 1. Mistakes leading to crisis: One of mistakes leading to crisis was supposed to involve economic statistical data fraud. According to a comprehensive report of Eurostat in 2004, the figures on deficit and debt from 1997 to 2003 had been misreported by Greek statistical authorities. In other words, Greece had doctored its economic data to cover up its poor financial situation. However, Greece was still allowed to enter the Eurozone even it did not meet the convergence criteria in reality - particularly the 3% of GDP ceiling on the...
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...E SSAY COLLECT ION Crisis in the Eurozone Transatlantic Perspectives ESSAY COLLECTION Crisis in the Eurozone Transatlantic Perspectives This publication is a part of CFR’s International Institutions and Global Governance (IIGG) program and has been made possible by the generous support of the Robina Foundation. The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries. Founded in 1921, CFR carries out its mission by maintaining a diverse membership, with special programs to promote interest and develop expertise in the next generation of foreign policy leaders; convening meetings at its headquarters in New York and in Washington, DC, and other cities where senior government officials, members of Congress, global leaders, and prominent thinkers come together with CFR members to discuss and debate major international issues; supporting a Studies Program that fosters independent research, enabling CFR scholars to produce articles, reports, and books and hold roundtables that analyze foreign policy issues and make concrete policy recommendations; publishing Foreign Affairs, the preeminent journal...
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