Apples and oranges ... the ideology is completely different. Maybe in a hundred years but not now. Does anyone know what the rules are? Can a country withdrawl from the EU and what is the penalty if any? Can a country be kicked out of the EU? If the EU has to bailout Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal it is fucked.
They always had economic might, but Britain would pit European countries against eachother for centuries to keep them down economically. Then Hitler and his V-1 Rockets overcame the natural defense of the English Channel.... and so the EU was created. England couldn't be so easily insulated from the European war theater as it was in the past. Moving forward... I see a Franco-German power rising in Europe. They will tip the balance of power between East and West - between the Anglo Americans and the Russians. Lot's of discussions between Russia and France/Germany going on right now. NATO may become missionless and useless.
Russia suplies more then half of Germany's energy needs. They have no choice other than closening thighs with them.
Superb posting. First you show that you know exactly. Then you show that you don't have a clue about the background. No country can be "kicked out". Beginning with the new Lisboa reform packet (started to be valid December 09) it is possible for countries to leave the european union if they want to do so. Though it ain't an easy process. No penalty - leaving the union and the consequences of it will be hard enough. As it was already said: It would be a more or less suicidal act. The major advantages of a common market and toll-free trading could be lost for a country leaving. Btw: I don't think that the fact, that struggling european countries will be bailed out at any cost means that EUR is going up soon. Reasons for EUR down are probably much more complex. Just look at what's happening to AUD, which is closely following EUR recently and certainly not touched by the Greece mess.
Greece is not leaving the EU. Rumors to that effect are promulgated by investors trying to make a quick buck. Greece needs the European Union for long term national security reasons, which in my view, trump possible short term financial benefits, if any from leaving. Complying with EU mandates won't be easy though - Greece has a democracy and government that actually responds to its people - even when the people are an irrational mob. No one said that democracy is always pretty. I'm curious to see how the US handles it's mobs and strikes when they begin in earnest. What the EU needs to do is what the US will ultimately do with its own states like California and NY. And that is a bail out - but within limits, knowing full well that other states will expect the same - within limits. To expect any of the PIIGS to go through a draconian IMF style process without the ability to inflate their currency to a degree as other countries have done in the past is too harsh in my view. Member states of the EU do not have that monetary luxury. Thus, the risk of a deflationary debt spiral is too real.
makloda, they stole our ideas ! Greece could sell islands to cut debt - German MPs BERLIN, March 4 (Reuters) - Greece should consider selling some of its islands as one option to reduce debt, two members of the German parliament in Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition said. Josef Schlarmann, a senior member of Merkel's Christian Democrats, and Frank Schaeffler, a finance policy expert in the Free Democrats, were quoted on Thursday as saying that selling islands and other assets could help Greece out of its crisis. "Those in insolvency have to sell everything they have to pay their creditors," Schlarmann told Bild newspaper. "Greece owns buildings, companies and uninhabited islands, which could all be used for debt redemption." Greece has launched an austerity programme designed to secure European help to tackle its crippling debt burden. Opinion polls show Germans are overwhelmingly against taxpayers bailing out Greece. Greece's deficit was 12.7 percent of GDP in 2009, well ahead of the EU's 3 percent of GDP limit. Merkel will meet Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in Berlin on Friday. "The chancellor cannot promise Greece any help," Schaeffler told Bild in a story under the headline: "Sell your islands, you bankrupt Greeks! And sell the Acropolis too!" "The Greek government has to take radical steps to sell its property -- for example its uninhabited islands," Schaeffler told Germany's best-selling daily newspaper. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas was asked about the idea in an interview with ARD TV. "I've also heard the suggestion we should sell the Acropolis," Droutsas said. "Suggestions like this are not appropriate at this time." Germans have had an allergic reaction to reports their country may be part of a bailout for Greece. Europe's biggest economy itself is only just creeping out of its worst post-war recession. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6230BL20100304?type=marketsNews
One thing is certain, Greece, and Greeks in general, will never take responsibility for their own actions. For decades they have blamed other countries for their own ineptitude. It is a country run on graft and corruption, with little regard for future generations.
Remains the question to be answered soon : 1) When and for which price will the USA sell New York to the Chinese ? 2) Will Arnold Schwarzenegger go back to Austria and become chancellor of Austria if the Chinese take over Sacramento ?