Will the European Union Survive? Research Paper

Total Length: 826 words ( 3 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 3

2010, about the survival of the European Union, the critical issue being the currency crisis with the Union's primary currency, the euro, which has been adopted by many of its members. The crisis manifested in several countries within the Union facing debt crises, largely because of recession, the one exception being Greece which actually managed to spend its way into debt all on its own. These crises were putting pressure on the wealthier countries in the Eurozone -- Germany in particular, to provide financing assistance. While smaller countries like Greece, Ireland and Portugal were struggling, the real fear was that these debt crises would spawn a contagion that would bring own a much larger nation like Spain or Italy, nations that are probably beyond Germany's capability of rescuing (Waterfield & Winnett, 2010).

The financial crisis, especially in Greece, has lurched onward since that point, including the implosion of the Cypriot banking system but neither the euro nor the EU has failed. There are two key narratives in this story. The first is that Europe is destined to fail and the second is that Europe cannot fail -- dodging this crisis is a sign that the European experiment is working.

Stuck Writing Your "Will the European Union Survive?" Research Paper?



The latter is a tough point to argue. Europe's response to the cascading crises at first was little more than triage, and after countries like Ireland began to recover the Union was left with only one real problem child, Greece. The other countries are not out of the woods yet, but they're on the path to get there. The European Central Bank and the leaders of the wealthy nations did just enough to avert disaster long enough for some semblance of economic recovery to take hold on the continent. Eurosceptics, of which there are many, would have to admit that however badly the crises were handled, the euro still exists, Greece still uses it, and ultimately barring any further crisis the system works more or less like it is supposed to. Not only that, but Europe's vested interests are too powerful to allow a little thing like Greek tax-dodgers to bring the entire system down.

However, the crises have revealed some cracks in the European veneer. The objective of the European Union was to foster harmony through trade, an appealing notion to a continent that had just been decimated by two world wars. If everybody is dependent on.....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Will The European Union Survive " (2013, November 25) Retrieved April 27, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/european-union-survive-178137

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Will The European Union Survive " 25 November 2013. Web.27 April. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/european-union-survive-178137>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Will The European Union Survive ", 25 November 2013, Accessed.27 April. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/european-union-survive-178137