Section7.Greece

** 1.History/Background of E.U. Country **


 * [[image:996541w.jpg width="120" height="159"]] || Greece, officially known as the Hellenic Republic, is a country with a very rich history. The Minoan Culture was the original great civilazation in Greece. Ancient Greece was made up of small city states. This ancient civilization's capital, Athens, had the first democracy. Athens has a history that runs back to 3,000 bc. This classical empire also had learning and the arts thriving. Olympia held the first Olympics in 776 bc. in this time period too. The Byzantine Empire then ruled over Greece for 1,000 years. After that it was taken by the Turks. It won independence from them in 1832 and has been a single state for over 200 years. Greece also has a diverse background. It is famous for its food. Some common foods for Greeks are lamb, seafood, olives, and cheese. This country has hundreds of islands which require many ferries to travel to and from every day. Because of its great access to the sea, it has a major shipping industry. ||


 * 2. Year of Admission to E.U./History and General Information about the E.U. **
 * [[image:1466.jpg width="245" height="165"]] || The European Union is a supranational organization that unites countries in Europe. One of the contributors of creating this union was Frenchman Robert Schuman. He came up with an idea in 1950 and it led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel community. Then they made the European Community or E.C. The E.U began with the common market. It now has 27 member countries.Greece became a resident of the E.U. in 2001. Many times the E.U. has meetings or gatherings with each countries' representatives. It depends on how many people, how large, and how many representatives that country has to see how big the meeting will be. For example, Spain might have 27 representatives because it is a relatively large and populated country compared to the country of Portugal because it is a relatively smaller country. ||

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 * 3. How does the E.U. and your country feel about global temperatures/climate change? (//environmental issue)// **
 * [[image:156333w.jpg width="123" height="150"]] || The E.U. feels that they are responsible for lowering the level of the Greenhouse gases that are released into the air by the European Union since some of the countries are becoming more wealthy and coming out of the financial slump of 2008. The E.U. says that the main cause of the change in global temperatures are the greenhouse gases that are being released into the air mainly by factories and vehicles. The E.U. says that it's possible to link arms with the International Kyoto Protocol and some individual countries to start lowering the amout of the greenhouse gases that are released into the air by a little more than 8% to help at least slow the greenhouse gas emissions released into the atomosphere by the E.U. The country of Greece believes that since it is becoming a major priority to lower the amount of greenhouse gases that are released into the air, and are determined to help all that they can by implanting the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change . They increase natural gas use by creating more conventional energy products and sources like oil coal and natural gases. The main reason to why the rate of 123.9% of the E.U's greenhouse gases are released into the air is because of the ships that are used at the shipping ports on the coast of Greece.

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|| The E.U believes that it is one major committment to support the troops of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There was a five key inauguration speech in the process of supporting the war in Afghanistan that included the keys of security, governance and anti-currperation. They have an indepth plan to help Afghanistan and Pakistan. E.U. members welcome Barack Obama's announcement of reinforcement by the U.S. troops and the E.U's plan. The E.U. stands to hold close bonds with Afghanistan, the U.S, and any other helping community. In conclusion, The European Union fully supports sending troops to Afghanistan to fight for the justice of the country. Because of Greece's economic situation, they do not have the money to send troops. They already have granted political asylum to some of those who have asked for it. However, if they get it back soon enough, they will probably send troops because they support the idea of helping them. media type="file" key="Katie 2.wav" width="300" height="50" Click on the link to hear our view! ||
 * 4. How does the E.U. and your country feel about supporting the war in Afghanistan? //(political issue)// **
 * [[image:20091015-sarkozy-afghanistan-m.jpg width="135" height="99"]]

media type="file" key="Katie 3.wav" width="300" height="50" Click on the link to hear our view! ||
 * 5. What is the economic background of your country and how does your country feel about supporting the economies of weaker countries in the E.U? //(economic issue)// **
 * [[image:3219.jpg width="145" height="94"]] || Greece cannot help to support the economies of the weaker E.U. members because they need help themselves. Greece is in their own economic situation. Due to the 2008 financial crisis, Greece guaranteed all personal bank deposits and a U.S. 36 billion dollar rescue package. This worsened their economy. Some of their major problems are public debt, inflation, and unemployment. While Germany would usually help this country, they refuse to do so because Greece's pension is 95.7% and theirs is only 43%. Greece has tried to improve their economy by increasing tax prices, which many Greeks have been protesting against. Citizens have been being held by the police in Greece because of the angry and upset and relatively poor people much like in the United states, because of the financial hole of almost everyone in Europe, even the whole world! All of the reasons that Greece is so poor all ties back in with the stock market and it's inner workings. Unemployment is one of the most threating problems in Greece right now. Many citizens have been stuck doing various odd jobs for wealthier citizens of Greece.