Research Papers

Over the last couple of years it has been seen how governments and international institutions in Europe try to take measures to solve the financial crisis which has invaded real economies and put some countries into real problems for everyday functioning. The focus has been put on banking systems, sovereign debt, and financial markets in general, and then on public expenditure cuts. However, it has been seen too often that measures taken, apart from socially unpopular, don't seem to give the desired results, and sacrifices don't seem to see an end. Meanwhile, a plethora of diagnoses and prescriptions are competing for attention quot; and in their gloominess. But their overwhelming focus on the economics of the euro crisis is itself part of the problem because the crisis is, above all, a reflection of deep-seated weaknesses in European institutions and the fabric of European society. Otherwise, what began as a marginal debt crisis, aggravated by political indecisiveness in Greece and in the European Union as a whole, would not have grown into an existential watershed moment for the European project. The aims of the paper were threefold: 1. To assess the contribution and responsibilities that each actor (governments, civil society, private companies, official institutions, citizens) and each sector (industries, banks, rating agencies) can make and have in the current European Economic crisis. 2. To analyse whether the new policies should be implemented at Eurozone or EU level. 3. To analyse whether the European Institutions capable to manage the current economic situation. Alternatively, set up new institutions to overlook the present crisis and avoid a future one.