As I'm sure most of you know, the G20 summit began recently. Its main focus will be on the European economy. Some of the issues at hand are what to do with Greece and Italy and how to come up with a plan to stabilize the European economy. The EU is considering trying to get Greece to leave the eurozone, especially since China refuses to lend money to the EU until Greece's economic situation is repaired. With Greece's economic problems, it is devaluing the euro for all of the countries that use it, tearing down the economies of other states, like Italy.
While some would argue that China is being selfish by not lending money to European banks, it is definitely in its best interest. Although Greece needs money to improve and China refuses to give money until it does, there's no point in pouring money into a broken system. It would be much easier for banks to get loans from richer countries if the European countries had a plan as far as how to solve the economic crisis, which is exactly why the G20 summit is focusing on this problem.
In hammering out a solution, one suggestion is to increase the lending power of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF would become a more powerful force in combatting the fall of the eurozone. Additionally, special precautions would be taken to avoid what happened in Greece from happening in Italy.
The summit will also discuss the possibility of the Greek prime minister losing the confidence vote, which could further delay economic recovery due to instability in the government and a delay in passing a bailout package in parliament.
What do you think? Do their solutions seem viable? How important do you think summits like this are to international politics? And could this threaten the sovereignty of states? Do you think the Greek prime minister should be replaced?
I think for now, the Greek prime minister should stay in power for at least SOME stability. While people may not like him and blame the failing economy on him, it is not all his fault! Poor guy...
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think it's really smart of China to pass on lending money even if Europe has a plan to solve the economic issues. I think if China did lend money, there could have been a potential for the situation to get worse in the long-run. Obviously there are problems that need to be fixed and money can't always do that.
Also, Megan. 2:06 am?
ReplyDeleteYou need to sleep.
I agree with Hannah, just dropping the Prime Minister completely will only cause more issues and instability. The people of Greece still need someone in charge until someone else and step in and help fix the problems.
ReplyDeleteAlso, China made the right call on not giving them any money. There would be no point to throw money in when the plans are still not entirely figured out to fix the economy. Maybe eventually they can help out to give them a little boost, but definitely not now.
I agree with Tiia and Hannah with what they said about the Prime Minister. The Greeks need some sort of familiarity at this time of great economic instability. And I like what Hannah said about this obviously not being all the Prime Minister's fault! Same goes for in the United States, it can't be ONE person's fault for an economic crisis. Obama is not causing stocks to fall, etc.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that China made the right decision. It has given out enough money in the past (with no hope of ever getting it back). They're basically throwing their money at everyone else's problems like the United States, Italy, and Greece's large debts. Maybe with time China will see Greece start to get back on its feet and THEN decided to lend some money to help push Greece back into a prospering tourist country.
ReplyDeleteI know this post is from a while ago, but I've heard nothing more of economic stability in Europe. I'm assuming they're still in shambles but the rest of the world just moved on. I've always seen economics as kind of tricky because the average person fails to see the economy as a living thing. It needs to be fed and cared for otherwise it will fail. In recessions/depressions people begin to save more, but if money is with the banks and they aren't giving out loans then all the money falls in the banks' hands to do what they please with. If people want change economically they need to spend a bit more. I understand that Europe's problem is a bit different but the average citizen can still help out.
ReplyDelete