European Student Think Tank

Greece, Ire­land, now Por­tugal. The euro­zone crisis con­tin­ues and wor­ries per­sist that the bail-out pack­ages provided by the EU and the IMF won’t solve the prob­lems of the peri­pheral euro­zone coun­tries. Can privat­isa­tion pro­grammes and cuts in social spend­ing really save those crum­bling eco­nom­ies? I would not bet on it and pre­pare for the worst.

First Greece, then Ire­land, now Por­tugal. Three coun­tries now receive money from the EU bail­out fund. Yet again the EU imposes a strict aus­ter­ity pro­gramme in return for fin­an­cial assist­ance. How­ever, the situ­ation is more com­plic­ated than in the Greek and Irish case because Por­tugal is cur­rently gov­erned by a care­taker gov­ern­ment and elec­tions will take place in June.

The euro zone is facing a deep crisis. Greece and Ire­land are close to bank­rupt. Por­tugal, Spain and Italy are most likely the next vic­tims. The call for action from the fin­an­cial mar­kets is grow­ing ever louder. And what are our Fin­ance min­is­ters doing? Indeed, they are talk­ing. A little essay on the struc­tural defi­cien­cies of the EMU-system.

Recent reports sug­gest the need to bail-out Ire­land out of their eco­nomic misery. What is going on in Ire­land and how big is the prob­lem? Do they need the EU’s help?