GREECE... is this the beginng of the end for the Euro... and the EU???

Elyzabeth

Member
Location
Bristol, England
If it gives up on the Euro, and they return to the Drachma...
people will be lining up to get in and spend their Money in Greece...

THE EU is basically an unelected dictatorship, way overstepping what it should be doing..
how much fish we can catch,
what voltage of vacuum cleaners we can have and MORE..

Next up how powerful our hair dryers and coffee pots can be...

unbelievable , but true !
 

I agree with you Elyzabeth the rules and regs we have to follow because of EU directive is a disgrace and almost laughable.

As for Greece it's a worry for all of us in Europe as to which way this new Government will take them, hopefully it won't be to the rest of Europes' expense both metaphorically and financially.
 
Well maybe they looked at the example of Iceland who refused to knuckle under to the IMF and all the fear mongering, threw a few bankers in jail, let some banks fail (I think???) and today are doing better.

Now I haven't been following the whole EU/IMF debacle in detail, but weren't they handing loans over to Greece even when the country is already insolvent? If they already had massive debt and resulting problems, does it make sense to keep giving them more money? Or was all of that simply how the rich in the EU/IMF/ECB get hold of Greeces assets? Sometimes bankruptcy can be a better way to go I think. Pay off what can be paid off, write off the rest and start fresh but with new awareness and understanding of how things should be done financially.
 
I agree HollyDolly, and hope we will get the chance to vote against it [if the promised referendum ever happens.]It was never meant to go the way it has [the EU]. You are correct Debby, and Greece should never have been in the EU all along, they were never ready for it in the first place.
 
One problem is that we don't get the opportunity to vote on
the things that matter in the UK...

Except maybe as an olive branch, with which to buy your vote.
 
I agree HollyDolly, and hope we will get the chance to vote against it [if the promised referendum ever happens.]It was never meant to go the way it has [the EU]. You are correct Debby, and Greece should never have been in the EU all along, they were never ready for it in the first place.


I think I read yesterday that there are three or four other countries looking at Greeces move with interest. Latvia was one, and I believe Spain had a big protest about the austerity measures being imposed by the IMF and the whole political system. Hungary? Was that one? Hmmm, just drawing a blank even though I was reading about it yesterday evening. Oh well, it will come to me later I'm sure.

Here's a photo of the Spanish protest. Definitely not just a few irritable people! Streets look pretty packed.

20150131_podemos1.jpg20150131_podemos3.jpg
 
I admit to not having followed the history of the EU.. I would imagine it was thought that liberal trade with one currency created an advantage.. I would appreciate being educated on it.. someone fill me in.
 
If it gives up on the Euro, and they return to the Drachma...
people will be lining up to get in and spend their Money in Greece...

THE EU is basically an unelected dictatorship, way overstepping what it should be doing..
how much fish we can catch,
what voltage of vacuum cleaners we can have and MORE..

Next up how powerful our hair dryers and coffee pots can be...

unbelievable , but true !

I agree, one size does not fit all. Someone will get squeezed out. Instead of the EU all they needed was a treaty regarding cross border commerce. If a country wants to loan another money or have their own separate agreements so be it.
 
The countries that are watching with the most interest are the " PIGS" countries;

PIGS is a horrible acronym.
But this is how the financial markets refer to the troubled and heavily-indebted countries of Europe - Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
(Some analysts use PIIGS to include Italy - Europe's longstanding biggest debtor.)
 
The original concept was to make trading easier and keep countries in Europe close together as friends and allies [nobody wanted a third world war.] So for some years, this worked well. Then,as more and more laws were created by the EU, some countries obeyed them to the letter [us for example] and some disregarded them , particularly Spain when it came to fishing rights. Actually it finished off our fishing industry, a complete disgrace.The, certain countries inside the EU wanted a common currency as well, the euro, and others did not [us in Britain did not]so thankfully we are not linked fiscally, and we are doing better in this recession than those countries with the euro as currency.The EU then sucked more and more countries in that were eager to join, countries that are poor and should not be joining, and as EU citizens can come and live in our country quite legally [we can go to their country and do the same, but who wants to?!] This is a very simplistic explanation of the EU but if you are interested in the full picture, you can Google it. Our own laws are being gradually eroded by the laws of the EU who seek to impose them on all countries. Germany is the most powerful country within the EU.
 
Thanks for clarifying that for those of us 'on this side of the pond' oakapple. I guess when the politicians were selling the idea to the populace, they neglected to mention the downside, i.e. if one of the signatories is in trouble, it may affect everybody.
 
Exactly Debby, it was supposed to be all singing and dancing. So glad that we kept the ÂŁ and didn't go for the euro as well.If the Conservative [Tory] party get re-elected at the general Election [in May] they have promised a referendum in 2016 IF they don't get the things they want for our country.It's anybody's guess who will get in at the election though.
 
Why do we need a political promise by a politician to help him get elected ?

Why are we not being given THE RIGHT to decide what we want?

....Not really a Democracy, is it?
 
The real problem that is causing coutries to get into trouble
is because the money is controlled by a central bank and no
country can change the interest rates to boost the Euro in
their own country.

Mike.
 
That's true Mike , for the countries involved who use the Euro for currency. Perhaps the Greeks will revert to drachma?
Elzybeth, we DO have democracy here [the right to elect a new government,] which is done evry 4/5 years. Thus we can boot out those we don't like. We can't have referendums on everything of course, that is what we have elceted politicians to sort out for us.However, on a subject as important as the EU and if we want to stay within it or not, I think a referendum is the right course to take, as it is affecting our country in all sorts of important ways. What we need first, is a detailed account of the pros and cons of staying in the EU, as many people don't know the full picture.So far, only the Conservative party have promised this, but only if they can't secure the rights they want for our country.The Labour party is against coming out of Europe. Seems we need a proper debate.
 
I vote here, in the UK, and here we vote for a party...
and the party chooses who IT WANTS...not who the people want.

We are not allowed to vote for not the most effective or capable person within the party
or the person who will be most likely to address the needs and wishes of the people.

It would be like America voting only for the Republicans or the Democrats...

In America

WE HAVE PRELIMINARY VOTING TO SCREEN OUT WHICH PERSON WE WANT TO REPRESENT US FROM EACH PARTY..
SO WE HAVE A LOT MORE SAY ABOUT WHO OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE.
 
I vote here, in the UK, and here we vote for a party...
and the party chooses who IT WANTS...not who the people want.

We are not allowed to vote for not the most effective or capable person within the party
or the person who will be most likely to address the needs and wishes of the people.

It would be like America voting only for the Republicans or the Democrats...

In America

WE HAVE PRELIMINARY VOTING TO SCREEN OUT WHICH PERSON WE WANT TO REPRESENT US FROM EACH PARTY..
SO WE HAVE A LOT MORE SAY ABOUT WHO OUR REPRESENTATIVES ARE.

Here, we assume that the party knows more about the person it wants to lead them than we do [and of course it does.]
 
Indeed, but no answer as to why people can't vote for individuals...???

Party Line is still that the voting public are not as wise as the Etonian "ruling class" politicians.

I disagree people, have more common sense than most politicians!
 
How many more times must we tell you, we CAN vote for individuals.

Are you suggesting that all politicians are old Etonians because if you are I suggest you do a bit of homework on past and present MP's.

This is just one example, my nephew served two terms as MP for my constituancy, he went to an ordinary secondary modern school and was semi illiterate when he left school with no qualifications, but that didn't stop him from getting where he did.
 
Anyone can vote for an individual standing in their constituency; anyone can stand for election....
 
Elyzabeth, it's just the way things are done here, and it's served us well for a long time. It allows people to not get 'hung up' on a personality, but to concentrate more on the policies of a party.We all know who heads that particular party when we vote in a general election.It matters that we agree with at least most of a party's policies when we vote, it doesn't really matter if we like the leader or not [we can never REALLY know what they are like after all.]Far better that the party itself choose it's own leader, as they know them better than we ever will.
 


Back
Top