Executive Summary Before adopting the euro as the official currency in 2001, Greece was one the

The country adopted the Euro in 2001, three years after many other EU countries had already done so, due to budget deficits the country was going through whilst under the drachma (Buchanan, 2015). As a result of their adoption of the Euro, they experienced a period of economic growth from 2001-2007, but many economists deemed it “unsustainable” due to the country taking out cheap loans through the EU (Buchanan, 2015). In 2008, when the global market crashed, Greece was unable to climb out of debt, as unlike in the past, where it could simply print more money, due to them being under the Euro, which is controlled by the European Central Bank, they were unable to do so. As a result, unemployment skyrocketed in the country, reaching heights of 25% (Buchanan, 2015). Following the beginning of the debt crisis, the number of terror incidents spiked from 18 in 2007 to 118 in 2009 (START, 2016a). As many domestic terror organizations in Greece are anti-capitalist, they likely blamed the foreign corporations and banks for the financial crisis and attacked their property as a result. When Greece was bailed out twice, once in 2010 and again in 2012, it unfortunately did not fix the problem as the money the country was given was simply turned around and used to pay off international debts rather than stimulate the economy (Buchanan, 2015). This failure to protect the investments of the Greek people may have led to another spike in incidents in 2013 (START,

This credit was available until 2008, when the U.S. housing market crashed, and the global economy tightened up everywhere (“The European Debt Crisis Visualized”). Greece suffered terribly from this because their economy relied on borrowing and deficit spending. Without being able to borrow that money, not only their economy, but all of Europe’s economy suffered.

The Golden Age of Greece is well known for its sculptures, buildings, rulers, and philosophies. Today, modern Greece is known for having economic crisis's as well as political turmoils. Greece's problems began when they joined the European Union. Greek drachma was officially replaced by the euro when they joined. Greece approved the euro in 2001, not knowing what they were getting in to. When the Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis came to power he realized that the budget deficit was not 1.5%, but 8.3%. That outstanding amount greatly hurt the economy. By 2008, Greece's tax collection crumpled and unemployment was at an all time high. Unfortunately, by 2014, 30% of Greek's population did not have a job (Greece Debt Crisis). In contrast, today's Greece is a complete different from the Golden Age. Greek unemployment soared as austerity took its toll.

Ever since the end of 2009, Greece has been involved in a financial and economic crisis that has been record breaking and shattered world records in terms of its severity and worldwide effects. The Greek government, since the beginning of the crisis, has attempted to take several governmental measures to try and “stop the bleeding,” including economy policy changes, dramatic government spending and budget cuts and the implementation of new taxes for citizens. In addition to this, the government has tried to alter the perceptions of Greek government and economy by the rest of the world in an effort to appear both more liberal and more democratic. Greece has also been working to privatize many previous

Economists describe the global crisis of 2008 as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. National banks assisted in bailouts to prevent large financial institutions from collapsing, and that was only prevented by the help of national banks, who assisted in bailouts. Although national banks stepped in, stock markets dropped all over the world. The crisis is the cause for the failure of many businesses and a loss of trillions of U.S. dollars in consumer wealth, along with decreased economic activity and the nation-wide debt crisis over in Europe. There were many countries affected by the global financial crisis, one in particular being Greece. Many people think the problems in Greece started with the financial crisis, but the country’s debt problems started long before the crisis, tracing back to the 1970s. The Greek economy was not prepared to deal with the economic downturn, because of its large gap between revenue and expenditures.

The Eurozone is facing a serious sovereign debt crisis. Several Eurozone member countries have high, potentially unsustainable levels of public debt. Three—Greece, Ireland, and Portugal—have borrowed money from other European countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to avoid default. With the largest public debt and one of the largest budget deficits in the Eurozone, Greece is at the centre of the crisis. The crisis is a continuing interest to Congress due to the strong economic and political ties between the United States and Europe.

The Eurozone debt crisis has been and continues to be a hot button topic in the economic and financial world with Greece at its center. As the possibility of the first default by a country in modern history looms over Greece there are a multitude of questions to be answered. This paper will focus on the effect joining the euro had on the Greek current account deficit. Was there a deficit problem before Greece joined the Eurozone in 2001? How did Greece’s deficit change after joining the Eurozone?

The financial headlines of 2012 were prevalent with the tribulations of the Greek economy. Its problems, in the eyes of many of the other nations of the euro zone, were not only negatively impacting the prosperity of the Greeks, but also the viability of the European Union. The country as a whole requires a major restructuring. Not only are drastic changes needed in financial and economic policies, but the Greeks need to understand their attitude of government entitlements cannot be sustained. The mismanagement of the Greek economy is also evident in its place in the global market community. It has not found the path that a county needs to follow to become an active member of the vibrant,

In 1999, ten European nations joined together to create an economic and monetary union known as the Eurozone. Countries, such as Germany, have thrived with the euro but nations, like Greece, have deteriorated since its adoption of the euro in 2001. The Eurozone was created in 1999 and currently consists of eighteen European nations united under the European Central Bank and all use the euro. The Eurozone has a one point six percent inflation rate and an eleven point six percent unemployment rate in 2014. Greece joined the Eurozone in 2001 and was the poorest European Union member at the time with a two point six percent inflation rate3 (James, 2000). Greece had a long economic history before joining the Eurozone. The economy flourished from 1960 to 1970 with low inflation and modernization and industrialization occurring. The market crash in the late 1970’s led Greece into a state of recession that the nation is still struggling with. Military failures, the PASOK party and the introduction of the euro have further tarnished Greece’s economic stability. The nation struggles with lack of competitiveness, high deficit, and inflation. Greece has many options like bailouts, rescue packages, and PPP to help dig it out of this recession. The best option is to abandon the Eurozone and go back to the drachma. Greece’s inflation and deficit are increasing more and more and loans and bailouts have not worked in the past. Leaving the Eurozone will allow Greece to restructure and rebuild

Many foreign as well as Greek economists of the time warned that the existing economic system needed to be repaired, and that the change to the Euro would only delay the inevitable outcome. I remember watching the news and noticing that there were demonstrations by Greek citizens against this move, but the world and the European banks largely ignored the warning due to greed of their own. There were billions to be made in the form of interest and signing bonuses.

Due to debt levels reached a high point where Greece has not any longer able to repay its loans, and were forced to ask for help from its European partners and the IMF in the form of massive loans. Therefore, the higher debt level and the attached conditions have compounded Greece 's woes (Arghyrou & Tsoukalas, 2011)

Greece has many historical aspects such as the acropolis where many polytheistic worshipers came to worship the Gods, the first Olympics, as well as the first democracy, however one question that the whole world is asking is “will Greece’s debt soon be history”? The prime minister, Alexis Tripras, is unwilling to pay of the billions of euros of its debt. Germany and France has loaned billions of euros and are now trying to create a plan to solve this problem. The International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and other organizations have declined all of Greece’s request for more loans. Although the majority countries in the world have debt, Greece has been loaned billions of euros from many european countries, the EU, and other international organizations; this is a problem because this country is doing all in its power to accept more grants, unwilling to give the overdue credits back.

One cannot understand the Greek Financial Crises and the general European Financial Crises without understanding the history of the European Union, the creation of the euro, and the Eurozone. The countries involved in the European Financial Crises were Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Ireland and Greece. The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union in 1993. The treaty gave citizenship to all people living in the 28 member countries. This treaty led to the creation of the Euro. In order to join the Eurozone, each member country must maintain sound fiscal policies. Essentially, each country must limit national debt to 60% of gross domestic product and limit annual budget deficits to a maximum of 3% of GDP. The main reason for the greater European Financial Crises and Greece 's crises was the country 's violated the treaty restrictions. Spain, Portugal, Iceland, Ireland and Greece were unable to maintain spending within these limits. Additionally, the European Union has a monetary union but does not have a fiscal union. Each member country maintains its own independent tax and spending policies. The absence of a common fiscal tax for every member country in the EU is the reason for the current crises.

As Europe slipped into recession in 2009, a problem that started in the banks began to affect governments more and more, as markets worried that some countries could not afford to rescue banks in trouble. Investors began to look more closely at the finances of governments. Greece came under particular scrutiny because its economy was in and successive governments had racked up debts nearly twice the size of the economy. The threat of bank failures meant that the health of government finances became more important than ever. Governments that had grown accustomed to borrowing large amounts each year to finance their budgets and that had accumulated massive debts in the process suddenly found markets less willing to keep lending to them. Hence, what had once begun as a banking crisis became a sovereign debt crisis.

Although a commonly accepted view is that the hidden budget deficit in Greece is the beginning of the European sovereign debt crisis, the real causes of this economic crisis can be various. To reveal the whole event, a comprehensive review of the background is