The Greek Crisis

The Greek Crisis

The European Union. A lot of people know of the name and most will probably be able to give a vague description of what it is and how it works. Outlined here is a brief discussion of the European Union and one of its member states, Greece. The financial crisis that has occurred and its subsequent impact on the European Union and the rest of the world.

In the 1940’s the world was at war and European countries such as France, Italy, Austria, and England were in disrepair and scared from the fighting. Many economic infrastructures had been destroyed and by the end of the Second World War the continent had suffered great instability. The European Union was set up with the goal of ending these frequent and bloody wars between neighboring countries the wreaked havoc on the people, governments, and economies of the area. “In the 1950’s the European Coal and Steel Community began to gather and unite European countries to secure and maintain peace economically and politically. The original founders of the European Union are Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg.” (1.) In 1957 the Treaty of Rome created what is called the European Economic Community or EEC. “The Treaty of Rome focused primarily on eliminating trade barriers.” (1.) This was the beginning of a common market for the Europeans and advanced the agenda of the European Union. However it would be a series of events in the 1960’s that would lead to the idea of a European monetary union.

The European Union had a shaky beginning. Before officially becoming known as the European Union in the 1990’s it was known as the European Community. From the start of the original founders of the European Union a similar goal had always been focused on, eliminating trade barriers. Cohn states that “postwar regional integration had been mainly in Europe from the late 1940’s to the late 1990’s. Today the European Union is more thought of as a collection of countries in Europe that make up...