Thursday, April 16, 2015
The EU and issues of integration, economic and political supranationalism (required)
Read this article and do research on the economic problems of Greece and the EU. Currently the country of Greece is in massive debt. Why is this a problem for not only Greece, but the entire EU? How do you think this issue will be fixed? Should they focus on the path of austerity or a massive "bail out"? What problems does this help to illustrate about some of the negative side effects of supranational organizations? Despite those negative aspects, why does the EU exist and why do countries want to be a part of it? What are the positive aspects of such integration an supranational organization? The UK plays a unique role in the EU, what is that role and how is it unique? Find, summarize and post a link to an article that helps to show the unique role the UK plays in the European Union.
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Greece’s current debt crisis is a problem for the EU because the EU helped loan a lot of the money to Greece and if Greece is unable to pay it back, then the entire system could be destabilized. People would also lose faith in the organization. Right now, it seems that Greece’s problem is far too severe to be solved anytime soon. A bailout would be problematic because then it puts the other member countries of the EU at risk, but austerity measures are unpopular and slow. This is typical among supranational organizations, where the member countries must depend on each other, and a crisis in one can create a ripple effect throughout the organization. Still, the potential pitfalls of a supranational organization are outweighed by the trade and funding benefits, and the fact that it could even help in the case of a crisis. Although the EU makes Greece’s crisis a burden on the other countries, it also helps to lessen it for Greece. However, UK’s odd position within the EU is significant. UK’s public perception is extremely hostile to the EU, and it is has yet to adopt the euro. The current crisis involving Greece has reinforced this view, and put greater distance between UK and the rest of the European community. The BBC article “Britain and the EU: A Long and Rocky Relationship” summarizes the history of Britain’s involvement with continental Europe, and how recent UK politicians, especially the Conservatives, have tended towards distancing the UK and the EU. Another BBC article presents the views of other countries towards the UK’s partial participation in the EU. Their perspectives range from critical (“The UK should remain part of the EU, but at the same time, the UK should not preach to other EU member states from the sidelines without being fully engaged in the process,” stated Schulz, the president of the European Parliament) to insulting (“[UK’s referendum on the EU is] certainly the most vocal and, by far, the most obstinate - to the point at times of being in complete denial of its national interests,” argued Bonino of the Italian Senate.) Ultimately, it is clear that integration is a continuation of the current trend toward globalization, and it is vital for countries to thrive in a more interconnected world.
ReplyDeleteGreece's massive debt affects the entire EU, because the EU took part in loaning money to Greece. With Greece lacking the capacity to pay its debt it affects the entire European common market and the Euro. Most likely it seems that Greece might be bailed out, however, it depends because a massive bailout could create a larger crisis if it fails. This illustrates the negative side effect of supranational organizations. Supranational organizations cause member nations to become more reliant on each other, and a crisis in one member nation usually affects all member nations. However,the benefits of an open market a common currency,among other things, outweighs the cost of reliance on other member nations. The UK plays a unique role in the EU because it has not adopted the Euro(and does not seem willing to anytime soon) and a large portion of the population is skeptical of the EU . Therefore, there is a controversy over if the UK should make a clean break from the EU and still try to maintain an economically favorable status. Which is why David Cameron stated he would put it up to a referendum of whether or not the UK should remain a member state of the EU.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-26515129
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21156905
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21148282
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32326547
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32229793
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32297781
Greece is part of the EU, which uses the euro as its currency. If Greece gets bankrupt or its economy worsens, since the countries in the EU use the euro as well, their economy will falter as well. The depreciation of the euro affects all the countries that are part of the EU. I think the path of austerity should be followed since they tried the “bail out” path before and it did not solve the problem. Pressure on Greece will make it work harder to meet the payments, and strengthen its economy. This is a negative side effect of supranational organization, if one country weakens, everyone else goes down with it. However, supranational organizations exist due to the benefits of integration. Countries can help each other since each country has different resources it can supply to other countries, leading to specialization. Politically, countries can help each other install greater democracies and political freedom. Medical, social, and economic aid are easily provided to countries in supranational organizations since there is more cooperation. The UK plays a unique role in the EU since it does not use the euro as its currency. This distances them from the EU. UK is considering leaving the EU since the UK could be more independent economically (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450).
ReplyDeleteGreece’s massive debt is a huge crisis for not only the country itself but also the EU. The conflict comes to play in two parts, one being that over the past few years since May of 2010, the EU has been loaning money to Greece but now if Greece is in even more debt then they will not have the ability to pay back their debt to the EU and it could bring the EU’s stability and reputation down. That leads to a second problem, which is caused by the shared currency of the countries in the EU: the euro. If the massive debt crisis continues, the value of the euro could change which would hinder not only the economy of Greece but also of all of the other EU country members. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/assistance_eu_ms/greek_loan_facility/index_en.html
ReplyDeleteThis crisis is way too delicate at the moment and will probably not be resolved in the near future. German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, even said, in hopes to warn Greece that their debt problem will not likely be solved with Greece’s creditors anytime soon. Greece’s economy has shrunk within the last 6 months, but the low oil price and low euro has benefitted the economy so one solution to this was be to lower the oil price even more, which would also benefit majority of the people in the EU and also lessen the euro even more also, which is not likely to happen and is probably only beneficial to Greece rather than the EU as a whole. They should focus on the path of austerity because a massive bail out would give the EU a negative connotation and would cause a loss of a lot of money. Problems that this crisis shows within supranational countries are the idea of one country going down and bringing the others down with it. The members of the EU all depend on one another, so a problem is one country harms all of the other members also. Besides this one terrible problem, there are many benefits to supranational organizations like the EU. One of these benefits is the idea that the countries help each other in times of crisis like the one Greece is going through right now. There is a bond an alliance that is rarely broken between the members and they are stronger together than they would be without this union. Because of that benefit, countries desire to be a part of the EU. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32326547
The UK plays a big and unique role in the EU because of the high involvement it has in all the aspects of the supranational organization. Economically, Britain provides a lot of money to the EU. Culturally, Britain is a well-known member of the EU and allows for strong alliance with countries outside of the union. This also benefits the military aspect. Leaving the EU would be bad for everyone and everything, it would drop stocks, lead to economic recession, and cause more of a loss in money than a gain for the UK. The UK also will soon offer a referendum on membership to their people and citizens, this is very unique because no other country does that I believe. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/19/what-would-happen-if-britain-left-the-eu-consequences-of-exit
This is a major problem for the EU as well because Greece has borrowed hundreds of millions of euros from the other members in the Union and are now unable to repay their debts. This has a great effect in that if Greece is unable to repay their debts, investors may be unwillingly to put money into members of the EU. Then it would be difficult for banks to borrow and lend money, which causes even greater economic troubles. Greece has been trying to employ austerity programs in the past few years, but they have largely failed and been ineffective. It has inhibited economic growth, which then does not allow for tax increases. Their Western socialism system further exasperates their attempts at austerity. A massive bailout includes major problems as well in that in may add extra debt that Greece will not be able to pay in the future. These problems illustrate how supranational organization may lead to one of the weaker members of an organization holding the other members down. Looking at the EU as a whole, it has many strong economic countries and is a mutually beneficial economic zone, but the problems of just one of its weak members has the potential to devalue the euro and cause economic instability. The EU does have many benefits though that cause the countries in Europe to want to join. It creates a uniformity in the European countries that provide efficiency and cooperation between its members. By unifying under one currency, its makes trade easier and its value has been able to become relatively high. Also, its allows for trade between its members to be much more free and allows for citizens of different countries to travel and work in other members' countries. In an overall view, it has led to increased cooperation and stability in the European market. Though the UK does have its own currency not the euro, it plays a crucial role in the stability of the EU. Prime Minister David Cameron proposed that a referendum on British involvement in the EU be held in 2017. This has placed special attention into the UK's vital role in the EU. They contribute a large amount of funds each year to the EU, and an article states that a massive economic recession would occur if the UK actually left the EU. There would be issues of businesses, integration, immigration, and freedom of movement. Also, there would be concerns of loss of allies in the war on terror. The UK is one of the strongest members of the EU, so if they left, it would have monumental effects in all aspects of European life.
ReplyDeleteAdditional sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-13798000
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/19/what-would-happen-if-britain-left-the-eu-consequences-of-exit
The economic crisis in Greece is an issue for both Greece and the EU because if the situations gets worse and Greece goes bankrupt, then they will leave the EU, which influences other countries to do the same to prevent a disaster. As a result, the EU will destabilize with members leaving. I believe a Keynesian approach will help solve the crisis where grants and loans go to fund social welfare programs, create employment, and create demand. This approach would go fund the people, instead of the banks, to create a long term stability for the country. This crisis demonstrates the excessive dependence countries have one another within these supranational organizations. The failure of one member can hinder the performances of all the others despite the success they might have. However, the EU still exists today with countries wanting to join it because of the economic prosperity formed between countries working together. Additionally, it promotes political stability and democratization within all of the member countries. Unlike other member countries, the UK is debating about whether or not to stay in the EU as they are gradually distancing themselves from the EU. In the BBC article "Viewpoints: How experts see UK role in EU", different political and economic leaders from Europe who are apart of the EU comment on the UK's status in the EU. The consensus is that the UK should stay for the benefit of the other countries and herself as the world continues to globalize and she should not try to isolate herself. As an united force, the EU has ability to put substantial pressure on international politics, like putting sanctions on Iran, together, alone the UK would not have substantial pressure.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20412306
The entire EU community is integrated and their economies are connected. One can use America as an example when the American stock market crashed in 1929, the entire world went into depression. The issue should be fixed using local businesses to stimulate their own country’s economy instead of having foreign corporations trying to piece together a government on a downward spiral. The EU should focus on the path of austerity because a massive bail out might help for some time, but eventually Greece will be back where it started and have even more debt to pay off after the bail out. It illustrates that the supranational organizations tend to focus more on keeping members in instead of working together and doing policies together. The EU exists to help smaller countries get represented in the policy making and to allow the larger countries a bigger role in maintaining the community. The positive aspects are more global scale, tends to be a peacekeeping organization, and helps in economic disasters. The United Kingdom is a member of the European Community but does not use the euro as its currency, so it will get affected by the decision of the EU whatsoever. The EU is also the biggest market for the British trade, and most of it is single-market (EU member countries).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20412306
The main issue is that Greece has borrowed money from other member nations of EU but is unable to pay off its debt. This affects the entire EU because it destabilizes the entire market and economy system. Investors will not be willing to allow other member nations to borrow money, affecting the whole system. The initiation of the austerity program in Greece proved to be unsuccessful for economic prosperity. The bailout method does not effectively fix the issue either because it might put extra burden on Greek economy since more debts needed to be paid off. These showed the negative side effects of supranational organization. Since the whole union is connected. The instability of the economy of one nation can affect the economic well-being of the other member nations, making the entire system worse. But countries want to be in it because it encourages unity and cooperation between European nations and the market system. For example, the use of euro makes trading and foreign investment easier. UK plays a unique role in EU because it does not use euro as the currency. A referendum has been proposed by Prime Minister David Cameron to examine the role of UK in EU. The UK is one of the most active and important member nations of the EU. The cooperation between UK and other member nations of EU is crucial because economic disaster will result if UK left the EU.
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450
The EU is affected by Greece’s debt because the EU loaned a lot of money to Greece, and also the entire EU’s economy is integrated due to the use of the Euro as Greece is unable to pay off the debt and the money is depreciated. Also, Greece seems to be relying on loans rather than truly trying to fix their economy, and are desperate too as they recently attempted to collect money from World War I reparations from Germany. This is similar to when the NYSE crashed in 1929, although that was on a much larger scale as the entire world fell into a depression due to the reliance on the dollar. Because of supranational organizations that all rely on the same thing, once one of the members of the organization fall then every nation in that group is affected. However, they are typically still beneficial as they can all support one another and help one another out, and it also greatly stimulates the world economy. The UK is special because it still uses the British pound rather than the Euro, and because of this people want them to either become completely integrated with the EU or to simply break free from them while still attempting to preserve an economically favorable status.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450
The economic crisis in Greece is also a problem for the EU because the EU is a major source from which Greece borrowed money. If Greece is unable to repay their debts, then the Euro which is adopted by many countries in the EU will become unstable, sending many more European nations into economic instability. I think this problem will be "fixed" either by a bail out or defaulting on their loans. Austerity does not seem like a likely option because many people in Greece, including her citizens and government officials will be hesitant to take higher tax rates and/or budget cuts. This solution will cause more harm than good since the debt will still not be repaid thus sending the nations of the EU into economic instability. This helps to illustrate that in supranational organizations need all members to hold up their ends because if just one member is not doing well, then all members are going to feel the effects of that one member failing to maintain their part. Although the risks, the EU exists to prevent nations in Europe from failing due to the fact that there are other nations to help support and invest in nations that are facing economic hardships. Nations also want to join the EU because of the stability seen in the Euro which is backed by the economies of many European nations which can provide the stability a country needs to get their economy stabilized. The UK plays a unique role in the EU because it is a member, yet does not use the Euro as its currency. From the article Viewpoints: How experts see UK role in EU, the people mainly argued that the UK still has some doubts over the actions and activities of the EU which causes it to remain weary of fully participating in the EU. The UK sees some risk associated with the EU, as in the Greek Financial Crisis which is why they retain the British Pound as their currency.
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20412306
Greece’s debt is a problem for the entire EU because they are connected to the euro, so if the economy collapses in Greece, then it affects the economic globalization aspect of the EU and jeopardizes the value of the euro, consequently affecting every country in the EU. They should be focusing on a path of austerity because massive bail out, although temporarily solving the problem, would result in a gradual loss of money for the EU and a loss of reputation for the efficacy of the EU. This highlights the negative aspect of economic globalization in a supranational organization; if one of the pieces breaks down, then the other pieces of the EU will begin to fall apart. They start to become interdependent on each other and cannot operate independently without everyone else’s success. On the flip side, the positives are that a weak country will have powerful allies who will cooperate with each other (to an extent) and provide financial support in situations such as Greece. This makes trade easier and value of the euro to become stronger overall. Although the UK is not in the EU, but it is still involved in the EU by providing money to the supranational organization. As one of the strongest members of the EU, if it were to leave, the opportunities for citizens would severely decrease and economic stability would collapse as free trade would break down if this economic assistance were to cease.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450
The financial crisis of the EU started when the EU loaned out a lot of money to Greece. When Greece's economy went down, they weren't able to pay back the loan, causing depreciation of the Euro. A bail out and austerity measures will both be ineffective due to the severity of the situation, however, I think that an austerity measure would be better despite the slow progress. A bail out would just put other countries at risk of going into an economic crisis. This economic crisis illustrates how supranational organizations are dependent on every country. If one country begins to struggle, it begins to drag down the other countries as well due to the bonding nature of a supranational organization. However, there are also a lot of positives that come with a supranational organization. Greece may be a lot worse had it not been in the EU. Since it has the support of the EU in it's time of economic crisis, it is not completely swamped. Additionally, the use of a common currency creates an open market, benefitting the countries in the EU. The UK is a strong figure within the EU and upholds it's power. However, the UK does not use the Euro and is considering leaving the EU to become economically independent. This poses problems as it may potentially lose allies and weaken the EU severely.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-21148282
Greece’s massive debt is a problem for the EU because of their collective use of the euro and how much the EU has lent Greece so far. If Greece’s poor economic choices bring down the value of the euro, then all of the EU’s economies will suffer. I think this will eventually be solved by Greece conforming to the austerity measures, which unfortunately doesn’t seem easy because of the current far-left administration. Both austerity and the “bail out” option have negative consequences, but I’m in favor of austerity measures. Cutting spending and increasing taxes definitely isn’t what most Greeks favor because it’s slow and unpopular, but bailing out Greece’s economy isn’t guaranteed to work (it didn’t last time) and doesn’t address the larger issue of how the economy is handled.
ReplyDeleteThis illustrates the pains of supranational organizations because all of the EU’s countries are forced to work together or suffer together. It seems unfair that Germany has to consistently support struggling nations, but that’s indirectly part of the deal as part of the EU. If Greece’s economy fails it will hurt the euro even more. The reasons why supranational organizations persist are the benefits of trade, funding and international amicable relations. Essentially the rewards outweighing the economic burden.
The UK’s role is unique because it is part of the EU but does not use the euro. PM Cameron is even offering a referendum on the UK’s membership in the EU in 2017. The UK is one of the strongest members of the supranational organization and its removal would severely hurt the EU.
The fact that Greece is currently undergoing an economic crisis poses a problem for the EU due to the fact that Greece's economy is tied for that of the member states of the EU, the problem is that a depreciation of the euro could occur as a result of other nations trying to aid Greece's economy. Greece can fix this problem by through a bailout however, this could still lead to problems due to the fact that the entire EU would be involved and all parties would be affected not just Greece. Not to mention the amount of time a bailout would take to be effective. This shows the negative side affect of supranational organizations in the fact that sometimes a nation becomes tied to situations that could have drastic consequences even if said nation wasn't the cause of the problem. Despite these problems the EU exists because nations realize how important it is to have this "backing." It provides a safety net for countries in a sense.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.euromove.org.uk/index.php?id=6509
Greece is one of the members of the European Union and, like most of the EU members, uses the Euro for it’s official currency. The Greek economy has been on the decline recently and Greece has had to take out lots of debt. The debt accumulates interest and the situation gets worse and worse and numerous discussions have been held (especially in Germany) in recent years of dissolving the EU to not deal with the debt burden. Greece lacks the capacity to pay off its debts and this negatively affects the entire EU economy because of the shared currency. I think that a massive “bail out” is the best solution because it is the only way to stop the debt accumulation. However, this path is risky and puts under pressure the economies of all the other EU countries, which is probably why it will not happen (not to mention the fact that no agreement can be reached about this).
ReplyDeleteIn supranational organizations, member countries must depend on each other, and a crisis in one can affect all of the other members. However, the advantages in having an open market, a common currency, and shared funding opportunities outweigh the issues of dependency. Even so, the Greek debt burden could cause a chain reaction leading to the economic downfall and eventual dissolution of the entire EU.
The United Kingdom plays a unique role in the UK because it does not share the same currency. Although brits do use the Euro, the official currency of the UK is still the British Pound. Not having a shared currency distances the UK from other members of the European Union. A large portion of the UK population wants for the UK to leave the EU, because of problems of dependency, as exemplified by Greece.
Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-13798000
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/19/what-would-happen-if-britain-left-the-eu-consequences-of-exit
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450
If Greece's economy continues to suffer, then it would lower the international cost of the euro, which every country in the European Union (with the exception of Great Britain) bases its economy upon. In the case that the currency loses value, the collective economy of the EU would suffer. It would benefit Greece more to try to follow a plan of austerity rather than to depend on another big bail out. As we have seen in the past years, whenever Greece has been in a similar situation before and was bailed out, it would only provide a little bit of temporary relief before their economy worsened again. This shows that if one member of a supranational organization were to suffer, as would the remaining members collectively as a whole. On the other hand, being part of a supranational organization would actually be beneficial to countries such as Greece, who depend on other nations to help keep its economy afloat. With supranational organizations, members may enjoy benefits such as relying on international trade to keep its economy going. In addition, they may rely on other nations' armies in case they need defense. The UK is not heavily involved with the EU, and yet heavily relies on it for "almost 50% of total exports." The UK would rather not get too involved in integration and remain a "reluctant partner," but rather sees the EU budget as an investment.
ReplyDeleteSource.:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20412306
If Greece's economy continues to suffer, then it would lower the international cost of the euro, which every country in the European Union (with the exception of Great Britain) bases its economy upon. In the case that the currency loses value, the collective economy of the EU would suffer. It would benefit Greece more to try to follow a plan of austerity rather than to depend on another big bail out. As we have seen in the past years, whenever Greece has been in a similar situation before and was bailed out, it would only provide a little bit of temporary relief before their economy worsened again. This shows that if one member of a supranational organization were to suffer, as would the remaining members collectively as a whole. On the other hand, being part of a supranational organization would actually be beneficial to countries such as Greece, who depend on other nations to help keep its economy afloat. With supranational organizations, members may enjoy benefits such as relying on international trade to keep its economy going. In addition, they may rely on other nations' armies in case they need defense. The UK is not heavily involved with the EU, and yet heavily relies on it for "almost 50% of total exports." The UK would rather not get too involved in integration and remain a "reluctant partner," but rather sees the EU budget as an investment.
ReplyDeleteSource.:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-20412306
Greece's suffering economy is a problem for the EU because th EU loaned Greece a lot of money. Looking at Greece's stats, it does not look like they will be able to pay money back. This is troublesome as it would put a strain om the EU and create instability. Greece should not plan on doing a big bail out because it would provide no way for debtors to get their money back. It is also a little too late to bail out because their conomy is already ruined. Their best bet is to follow a plan of austerity although it may be difficult and slow. This shows how being part of a supranational organization has its disadvantages, if one part fails, it will affect the whole. Despite this however, joining a supranational organization could help provide security and support. The UK plays an unique role in the EU as it benefits tremendously from being in it. They depend on many of the nations for their foreign exports. Millions of jobs could be lost as global manufacturers move to lower-cost EU countries.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-20448450