Is this a good idea for our government ?
What do you think my friends ?
Before you will answer these questions we need to have an insight about EU. And what are the advantages and the disadvantages that can give to a country that joins, and what are the impacts to ASEAN economy on its instability.
The European Union is an economic and political union established in 1993 after the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty by members of the European Community and since expanded to include numerous Central and Eastern European nations. The establishment of the European Union expanded the political scope of the European Economic Community, especially in the area of foreign and security policy, and provided for the creation of a central European bank and the adoption of a common currency, the euro. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), formed by six countries in 1958 (Belgium, France ,Germany, Italy ,Luxembourg, Netherlands).
In the intervening years the EU has grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. Currently the EU have 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe with a combined population of over 500 million inhabitants, or 7.3% of the world population. The EU in 2011 generated a nominal GDP of 17.6 trillion US dollars (larger than any single country in the world), representing approximately. 20% of the global GDP when measured in terms of purchasing power parity. To join the EU, member states had to qualify by meeting the terms of the treaty in terms of budget deficits, inflation, interest rates and other monetary requirements. Of course there are also advantages and the disadvantages if a country in Europe will join the EU.
Countries of the European Union
Austria 1995, Belgium Founder, Bulgaria 2007, Cyprus 2004, Czech Republic 2004, Denmark 1973, Estonia 2004, Finland 1995, France Founder Germany Founder, Greece 1981, Hungary 2004, Ireland 1973 Italy Founder Latvia 2004 Lithuania 2004 Luxembourg Founder Malta 2004 Netherlands Founder Poland 2004 Portugal 1986 Romania 2007 Slovakia 2004 Slovenia 2004 Spain 1986 Sweden 1995 United Kingdom 1973
Advantages of being a part of the European Union.
1. Membership of the Single Market: The Single Market of the EU has meant that companies going about their business in EU member states have been forced to lower the prices of their products to become more competitive.
2. Free Movement of Citizens: European citizens have the freedom to live, work, study, and travel in any other EU country.
3. More Jobs
4. Money for Development: The EU is working to develop regions of Europe. Such areas might for example have a high numbers of people unemployed, or be rural areas without many facilities, like good roads. This development is carried out using 'European Structural Funds.
5. A Louder International Voice: By working together in the EU member countries can ensure their concerns are heard, and taken more seriously, on the international stage. When the EU speaks it represents about 400 million people (this will be 500m after enlargement). This is more than the combined population of the United States & Russia.
6. Greater Protection for Workers: The European Working Time Directive is an EU initiative designed to protect workers from exploitation by employers.
7. Protection of the Environment: The Environment knows no border and so the only effective way to tackle environmental pollution is through international co-operation and action. Britain has a cleaner water, cleaner air and cleaner beaches because of action at the EU level
8. Greater Co-operation in Law Enforcement: EU co-operation is helping to crack down on terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime.
Disadvantages of being a part of the EU
1.Too Many Rules and Regulations: There are a great deal of rules and regulation, some of which do not seem sensible. These can make the EU inefficient and excessively bureaucratic.
2. Unaccountable to its Citizens: Decisions are taken a long way from the people, making it a poor example of democracy. People who are affected by EU decisions have little chance to make their voices heard.
3. Concentration of Power: EU institutions have too much power. They have taken away the right of individual countries to make their own decisions about economic and political matters.
4. Speed of Integration: The EU is moving towards more and more integration at a phenomenal rate with out enough thought or debate on the issues. Any country joining the EU have risks of being swept by this tide of integration without plotting and following its own course in the interest of its own citizens.
5. Loss of country's Sovereignty: Membership of the EU has led a state to lose its sovereignty. As a result a state is no longer free to develop its own policies, make its own laws, or control its own economy in response to its own needs.
The crisis in the European Union came up close by the series of events. From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors as a result of the rising private and government debt levels around the world together with a wave of downgrading of government debt in some European states. Causes of the crisis varied by country. In several countries, private debts arising from a property bubble were transferred to sovereign debt as a result of banking system bailouts and government responses to slowing economies post-bubble. In Greece, unsustainable public sector wage and pension commitments drove the debt increase. The structure of the Euro zone as a monetary union (i.e., one currency) without fiscal union (e.g., different tax and public pension rules) contributed to the crisis and impacted the ability of European leaders to respond. European banks own a significant amount of sovereign debt, such that concerns regarding the solvency of banking systems or sovereigns are negatively reinforcing.
Concerns intensified in early 2010 and thereafter leading Europe's finance ministers on 9 May 2010 to approve a rescue package worth €750 billion aimed at ensuring financial stability across Europe by creating the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).
In October 2011 and February 2012, the Euro zone leaders agreed on more measures designed to prevent the collapse of member economies. This included an agreement whereby banks would accept a 53.5% write-off of Greek debt owed to private creditors, increasing the EFSF to about €1 trillion, and requiring European banks to achieve 9% capitalization. To restore confidence in Europe, EU leaders also agreed to create a European Fiscal Compact including the commitment of each participating country to introduce a balanced budget amendment.
The multi billion dollar crisis fund, also known as the “firewall fund,” is aimed at helping the financial agency responds to the Euro Zone debt crisis. Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain have asked the IMF for assistance after being locked out of debt markets. The total pledges announced at the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, amounted to $456 billion.
The European Economic Community (EEC) was the first dialogue partner to establish informal relations with ASEAN in 1972 through the Special Coordinating Committee of ASEAN (SCCAN). On May 7 1975, an ASEAN-EEC Joint Study Group (JSG) was formed to look into collaborative endeavour between the two regions. In February 1977, the Special Meeting of ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Manila proposed that ASEAN establish ties with the Council of Ministers of the EEC and the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) through which ASEAN could make representations against the growing protectionism of the EEC countries. ASEANs relationship with the EEC was also formalized in that year.
At present ASEAN as a whole represents the EU's 3rd largest trading partner outside Europe (after the US and China) with more than €206 billion of trade in goods and services in 2011. The EU is ASEAN's 2nd largest trading partner after China, accounting for around 11% of ASEAN trade. The EU is by far the largest investor in ASEAN countries. EU companies have invested around €9.1 billion annually on average (2000-2009). The total stock of mutual investments between the EU and ASEAN exceeds €125 billion. The EU's main exports to ASEAN are chemical products, machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products as well as textiles and clothing.
The eurozone crisis is expected to have only a limited impact on the Paific region. The latest issue of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Pacific Economic Monitor says. The region may feel some indirect impacts through trade and investment links between the European Union and the Pacific’s economic partners, declining values of the Pacific’s trust funds, and declines in tourism. Governments in the Pacific should make sure that their finances are in good shape in case they need to act to counter the impact of slower global growth in the future.
As the case of 2008 crisis when there was a freeze in the global banking system. But the risk of a credit crunch and the consequent impact on trade and finance from the European crisis is much lower than during the global financial crisis in 2008, according David Carbon, chief economist at DBS ( Development Bank of Singapore) in Singapore, speaking during a panel debate.
"In 2008, the crisis was driven by derivatives and off-balance-sheet exposures where nobody knew how much of it was and was not on balance sheet. Today, most of the bad exposures are sovereign bonds and it is easy to get an idea of the exposure as they are on the balance sheet. Therefore there is more transparency now than in 2008. Also the US dollar funding is much more important to global trade finance and this is primarily an eurozone issue" he said.
pedro:
In our country's current situation we should not be too much to be a show off to the world that we have a stable economy because we don't have. We still do not have enough jobs in our country that is why many Filipinos aiming to work abroad. As the BSP said that the source of funds will be taken from our dollar reserves, which is currently increased due to high remittance from overseas Filipino workers. In our country's recent situation there are no such things as extra penny. Yes we can contribute some (maybe half or a third of billion dollars) to cover up our responsibility to the world, but we should also remember our needs.
If the EU will collapse, and our economy is still standing and going strong, then we can show to the world that we are serious in improving our country's economy and the life of every Filipino. In that time we open the flood gate of foreign investment that can help our economy much much more stronger.
One billion dollars is only a pocket money for the rest of the members of the G20 like the US,UK CANADA, JAPAN,SAUDI ARABIA,FRANCE, GERMANY,AUSTRALIA but not our country. Surely they can gather the $456 billion for the IMF. We should invest that one billion dollars to our education system for the future of our own economy, so that these children will have jobs and not aiming to work abroad. If you ask a nursing student today why they took the course, they will answer you to work abroad and to have a good life.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada:
“Charity must begin at home. The government should prioritize the needs of the country rather than infuse funds to those struggling economically. We have more than enough problems needing those funds,”
“it would have been more acceptable if the government has already been able to provide for the basic needs of the people and can finance all infrastructure projects and other programs needing immediate implementation.”
There remain some perennial problems such as lack of schools, infrastructure, not to mention the continuing poverty issue in the country today. While it’s laudable for the government to extend assistance to ailing nations.
Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III
Sotto expressed his strong objection to the move.The Philippines is being made to appear as financially stable when in fact it is not. “We’re a poor country, let’s not pretend that we are rich,” he was quoted as saying in Filipino.There are a number of people living below the poverty line who need not only the attention of the government but also financial assistance.
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