Has the Euro Been a Failure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Has the Euro Been a Failure - Essay Example Conversely, those states that have bandwagon together in the hopes that joining the European Union will provide the prosperity that the fabricators have promised have found out that the benefits are oftentimes outweighed by the risks. For instance, in the beginning, phases of European Union integration, there was a subset of requirements that each of the member states must ensure that they ascribed to as a determining factor of being eligible to participate in and share the â€Å"benefits† of European Union membership. However, as time has progressed and the economic situation across the continent has substantially deteriorated, many of these determining factors have weighed heavily on some of the weakest member states. The article refers to these as â€Å"PIIGS† (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain). Although these economies are suffering from the pains of continental integration, their central banks, and economic institutions are beholden to upholding the demands that European Union membership has placed upon them. In this way, the needs of the nation are subjected to the demands of EU membership. The authors discuss the most prominent reason/factor which caused the European Union to integrate so hastily was the fact that European leaders, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, were in a rush to ensure that the torturous pains that Europe had experienced within the past 60 years would never again be repeated. Although the author states that this oversight was one that was born primarily out of a desire to ensure the peace and prosperity of the European block for future generations, this estimation is one that looks at the formation of the European integration through rose tinted glasses (Bergsten 18).