"Euro should be abolished"

Issue : Euro

 

This house believes the euro, as a single currency, is dividing Europe and should be abolished.

 

Pin-Point SUMMARY

 

Prop.

 

1.    Fundamental problems of the organizing process of EU

A.    First, politicians broke all promises made in the Maastricht agreement. Not only was Greece let into the European Union for purely political reasons, but the fundamental rule, "no member to exceed its yearly budget deficit by the equivalent of 3% of GNP", was broken over a hundred times. Mandatory punitive charges, provided for such cases, were never applied.

B.    Second, the "one-size-fits-all" euro turned out to be a "one-size-fits-none" currency. The euro itself caused some of the problems politicians are now trying to solve. With access to interest rates at much lower German levels, Greek politicians were able to pile up huge debts.

C.    Third, instead of uniting Europe, the euro increases friction. Students in Athens, the unemployed in Lisbon and protesters in Madrid not only complain about national austerity measures, they also protest against Angela Merkel.

2.    Results

A.    As a result of the financial crisis, many banks are still unstable.

B.    The negative effects an overvalued euro has on the competitiveness of the southern states, including Belgium and France.

C.    The huge level of debt of some euro-zone countries.

 

 

Opp.

1.   Should the solution be to abolish the euro and put it outside with the rest of the garbage? No.

A.   On the contrary, abolishing the single currency now would be a crucial mistake.

B.   It would once again introduce monetary limits combined with variations in exchange rates and risks.

C.   It would seriously hamper trade and economic activity within the European Union and could potentially give it a fatal blow.

D.   In short, it would mean the end of the successful internal market that we currently have in Europe.

2.   The real reason for the euro crisis is the fact that the euro zone is a monetary union that is not supported by an economic and political union.

A.   Nowhere in the world will you find a common currency system that is based on 17 independent governments, 17 different economic policies and 17 bond markets.

B.   The result is that, despite the existence of a stability pact (which is too weak in its current form), the divergence between the euro countries (their competitiveness and their effectiveness) increases, rather than decreases.

 

3.   The question is not whether our single currency should be abolished or not. The question is whether our leaders dare to take bold measures or not. If they continue to come up with half-hearted measures as they have done over the past 18 months, it will lead to the end of the euro.