Greece and the rest of the Eurozone may have agreed upon terms for their third bailout as the Mediterranean nation’s debt crisis rumbles on, but its future still remains uncertain. The events are being hailed as the hardest situation the EU has had to deal with so far.
Before now there have been a few other countries in the EU that have been on the brink of financial collapse. The big players in sorting out the terms for Greece may have been Germany, France and Italy, yet it could be worth taking note of some of the countries which have survived similar disasters.
Ireland
In 2010 Ireland accepted a €67 billion bailout from international lenders after bad loans during the country’s property boom led to a banking crisis. Three years later the country became the first Eurozone nation to exit the bailout.
Massive cuts in social welfare and government jobs helped them overcome this crisis and proved bailouts could work to beat financial catastrophes. Ireland may now have to contribute €1 billion to Greece’s bailout fund, an idea they back as long as the Greek government make the necessary cuts which make economic sense.
Spain and Portugal
Spain were the largest nation to require a bailout when they received European rescue loans up to €110 billion three years ago. Unemployment remains high even though their economy is improving. The Spanish government backs further Greek bailouts and believes it is imperative Greece remains in the Euro. However, reforms must be made to avoid their debt worsening.
Neighbours Portugal also received €78 billion from the IMF and other Eurozone countries. Portugal insist they made a lot of sacrifices to beat bankruptcy and while they support bailouts for Greece to do the same, making acceptable sacrifices is a must.
Cyprus
Heavily exposed to the effects of Greece and their banking crisis, Cyprus nearly collapsed a couple of years ago too. Unlike other bailed out nations they fully support a debt restructuring for Greece as they believe the debt is unsustainable in the long run.
Whatever happens for Greece and the rest of Europe remains uncertain, which does make it an exciting time for trading in the financial markets. Analysts who trade on the forex markets with FxPro have indicated the next few months will offer some interesting market movements. Much like Ireland’s collapse had a big effect on the Euro weakening, many are speculating similar things in the coming months. Listening to countries which have survived the same kinds of troubles could help avoid such events though.
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