The European Debt Crisis
1. Which brief definition does the documentary give to the European Debt Crisis?
2. What had the countries of Europe been to each other througout its history? What had the nature of their financial relations been like until recently?
3. When did the idea of unification strike the heads of Europeans? Why?
4. Which event signified the readiness of European counrties for unification? How many countries signed the Masstricht Treaty? When did the unified monetary system come into effect?
5. What has become the key reason for the Debt Crisis? What is the gist of the monetary policy / fiscal policy?
6. How did the situation with money borrowing change for Greece as it entered the Euro Zone?
7. What is Germany’s credit card?
8. How did Greece adjust its fiscal policy and spendings?
9. Which situation brought Italy, Portugal and Greece to the accumulation of huge debts? Which challenge did Ireland and Spain face? How did the tight intertwining of companies add to the situation? What spurred the crisis in Europe and brought the borrowing to a halt in 2008?
10. Which austerity measures were the countries obliged to implement? Why didn’t they prove their effectiveness?
11. How did the cultural differences factor contribute to the crisis?
12. What is the obvious way out of such a “domino effect” trap, an unpopular notion? Why does the solution look like surrendering the states’sovereignty to a higher power?
