The PIIGS of Europe- the beginning of the end?

by Esme Ellis

There is a Sisyphean quality to the frequency with which the Euro has failed the Euro zone. It is November, and for the second time this year, the Europeans are faced yet again with the task of shouldering the burden of the Euro. When Greece admitted bankruptcy earlier this year, Europe plunged into crisis mode, squaring their shoulders, and pushing back against the impending collective market failure with a 110 billion Euro bailout. The euro zone took the collective decision on umbrella sovereignty and made a decisive commitment toward a united Europe with the bailout.

The commitment has a price however, that not all are willing to pay. Most recently, the Austrians refused to handover the latest support installment to the Greeks, citing an insufficient move towards reducing Greek debt as the cause.

Put this action in the context of growing concern about Irish bankruptcy, and the future of the European conglomerate seems very bleak indeed.

For the Irish, the question revolves around taking the bailout or not. Other states have urged the Irish to take it, for the health of the common currency, while the Irish have protested, labelling the issue as a mere "liquidity problem". They insist that there is more than a year left until Irish debt is no longer covered, and that there are other paths to take than an appeal to the IMF or the European Financial Stability Fund.

The sick men of Europe, the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece , and Spain) are considered the weak economies in European, and are predicted as most likely to fail within the next five to ten years. The concern is this: the EU could stave off the effects of a failed Greece or Ireland. A failed Spain however, presents the potential end of European unity and the common currency. In the EU, there are extremely diverse economies functioning under the same monetary standard, and despite allowing for the perpetuation of less competitive economies, the European dream of preservation and incorporation may be over. Size matters, and what the Europeans consider their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness.

Is the EU intended as a marriage of sovereignty, in sickness or in health? The currency is both the focal point for union and infection in the EU- it sacrifices sovereignty in the name of collective. The rise of the PIIGS as concern, however, calls into question the feasibility of European style nationalism and institutionalism.