Section2.Greece

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

Click the Greece flag to see a panaramic shot of a Greek cliff with many Greek buildings.. || Greece has a very complex history. For instance, in 338 B.C. it was ruled by Macedonians, a neighboring country. Modern Greece came into being in 1830. A worldwide activity, the Olympics, was started by the Greek people. It was started for Zeus, the Greek god, in the 1700's. The birth rate of Greece is 9.45, however the death rate is 10.51; therefore, Greece's population is decreasing. Before 1950, people in Greece mostly earned a living by farming and fishing but now they are more high tech. A.D 395, it was split into eastern and western halves. In 146 B.C. Greece was absorbed into the Roman Empire. Greek civilization arose in the island of Crete. It was conquered by Indo-European invaders. Athens and Sparta are the two main city-states. In 1829, Greece achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire. During the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, it gradually added neighboring islands. In World War II, Greece was first invaded by Italy and then occupied by Germany. Following the latter's defeat in 1949, Greece joined NATO in 1952. In 1967, a group of military officers seized power, establishing a military dictatorship that suspended many political liberties and forced the king to leave the country. In 1981, Greece joined the EU; it became the 12th member of the European Economic and Monetary Union in 2001. ||
 * [[image:Greece's_flag.jpg width="227" height="186" link="http://www.360cities.net/image/santorini-oia-greece#-150.63,-7.67,70.0"]]


 * 2. Year of Admission to E.U. History and General Information about the E.U.**
 * [[image:european_union.jpg width="275" height="254"]] || Greece joined the E.U. in 1981. It has twelve council votes and 24 members in the European Parliament. The E.U. has a population of 11.1 million members. They also have 224 billion GDP. The currency is the Euro. On May 9, 1950, a French leader, Robert Schuman, made a speech about bringing piece into Europe. These ideas led to the E.U. In 1958, six European countries created the European Economic Community. Before 2004, the E.U was just part of Western Europe, but after this time, it spread to central and Eastern Europe. Ever since then, the E.U has been united by centripetal forces. For Example,the European Union has started a trade block. This helps citizens travel from one country to another, possibly for work, without having to get a passport. Also, adopting a common currency has made these countries part of the same identity of "Europe". All thought this has untied these countries, not everyone has taken up the Euro which made it hard for people in countries to work in a different country. This was hard because whenever they went there to work, they would have to exchange it for that countries money if they had to buy something, and then when they came back with their salary, they would have to trade it back over again. The greatest of all, these countries have worked together to share common goals. ||

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 * 3. How does the E.U. and your country feel about global temperatures/climate change? (//environmental issue)// **
 * || Greece has many opinions on climate change. All together though, it is against climate change. This country sets specific targets for climate change for 2020.Greece is a polluter of Europe. It pollutes millions of green house gases. The E.U has many existing E.C levels. The European Union has been trying to reduce green house gasses. On the island of Mykonos in Greece, warming water appears to be encouraging the growth of sticky, stinky blobs. The blobs, called mucilages, are light brown and stretch as far as 200 kilometers (124 miles). Mucilages are made from clouds of animal and plan matter. Shrimp and other small animals live in the snow, feeding on it or seeking shelter there. As the snow becomes denser, it turns into a smelly goo. Global warming has increased the formation of these hideous blobs. The blobs harbor germs such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), so it has worried scientists. A rash of deadly outbreaks of E. coli poisoning has happened in the United States the past few years when people ate food tainted with harmful strains of the germ. Authorities regularly test the water for E. coli, and if it comes back positive, they have to close down the beaches. This is also harmful to fish and other sea life. The blobs may soon be coming to a beach near you. The oceans are warming worldwide, and mucilages have been spotted floating waters everywhere from northern Europe to Australia.

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 * 4. How does the E.U. and your country feel about supporting the war in Afghanistan? //(political issue)// **
 * || The E.U is one of Afghanistan's largest donors. It has been building on Afghanistan's military weapons. Also, the E.U is spending approximately one billion dollars on Afghanistan. The E.C reiterates the E.U's strong commitments to promote stability and development in Afghanistan. Greece has openly declared the importance of improving security conditions and economic progress in Afghanistan. It also supports maintaining good neighborly relations with the people of Afghanistan. The Greek people also want to stop terrorism because it has negative effect on Afghanistan. Currently the Greek rescue team is is opening a Greek Nursing School for the people in Afghanistan. Also they recently found some boys from Afghanistan that fled the violence and were in a bare shack with an open cooking fire. Greece is over whelmed and needs more support from other E.U countries. Greece is under pressure to allocate transport helicopters for the people in Afghanistan. There is a nother pressure on Greece to go beyond it's infrastructure. Sadly for Greece the government said it can not provide more troops since it already has 3,300 tied up in mission abroad.

Click the photograph above to view a panaramic shot of a Greek fruit market. || Greece does not support helping countries with more poor economies. This is because Greece happens to be one of those poor economic countries. This country is in a major debt situation. Greece is facing over thirty billion dollars in debt. The E.U. has stated they will bail them out if they have an economic reformation. If Greece fails to adopt austerity measures, economists say Germany and France may be forced to bail Greece out. They would be forced because they need to protect the Euro. Germany, a country of a two hundred billion dollar trade surplus, has yet decided they will not help Greece. The countries have set a deadline for Greece to get out of debt. The deadline is 2010.
 * 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:santorini.jpg width="318" height="396" link="http://www.360cities.net/image/fruit-market-in-kos-town-greece#181.30,-4.20,85.7"]]

Greece is one of the smallest of the European Union's economies but has some of its biggest macroeconomic problems. Although other big E.U members such as France and Germany are trying to help out Greece, they will face many years of struggle to regain their economy. Greece isn't alone in the debt crises. Together with Portugal, Italy and Spain, it is part of a bloc referred to as the PIGS--PIIGS if you include Ireland. These are the E.U.'s overburdened economies, whose massive debt and high unemployment have investors worried that economic recovery is going to be a lot worse than anticipated. The reason for this debt is partially because, in a country of 11 million people, nearly 850,000 workers are employed by the state--the country's biggest companies are state-run or -managed. They get generous perks, like 14 paychecks a year instead of 12. Many enjoy a workday that runs from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. media type="file" key="Nichol 3.wav" width="300" height="50" Click on the link to hear our view! ||