What was the beginning year of the European debt crisis that particularly affected Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain?
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PIGS (economics) PIGS or PIIGS or PIIGGS is an acronym used in economics and finance. The PIGS acronym originally refers, often derogatorily, to the economies of the Southern European countries of Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. During the European debt crisis, the term was also increasingly used to refer to the economies of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, four EU member states that were unable to refinance their government debt or to bail out over-indebted banks on their own during the crisis.
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European debt crisis The European debt crisis (often also referred to as the Eurozone crisis or the European sovereign debt crisis) is a multi-year debt crisis that has been taking place in the European Union since the end of 2009. Several eurozone member states (Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus) were unable to repay or refinance their government debt or to bail out over-indebted banks under their national supervision without the assistance of third parties like other Eurozone countries, the European Central Bank (ECB), or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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Winter of 2010–11 in Europe The winter of 2010–2011 in Europe began with an unusually cold November caused by a cold weather cycle that started in southern Scandinavia and subsequently moved south and west over both Belgium and the Netherlands on 25 November and into the west of Scotland and north east England on 26 November. This was due to a low pressure zone in the Baltics, with a high pressure over Greenland on 24 November.
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Treaty of Lisbon The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement which amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon was signed by the EU member states on 13 December 2007, and entered into force on 1 December 2009. It amends the Maastricht Treaty (1993), known in updated form as the Treaty on European Union (2007) or TEU, and the Treaty of Rome (1957), known in updated form as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (2007) or TFEU. It also amends the attached treaty protocols as well as the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM).
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European debt crisis contagion European debt crisis contagion refers to the possible spread of the ongoing European sovereign-debt crisis to other Eurozone countries. This could make it difficult or impossible for more countries to repay or re-finance their government debt without the assistance of third parties. By 2012 the debt crisis forced five out 17 Eurozone countries to seek help from other nations. Some believed that negative effects could spread further possibly forcing one or more countries into default.
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European Systemic Risk Board The European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) was established on 16 December 2010 in response to the ongoing financial crisis. It is tasked with the macro-prudential oversight of the financial system within the European Union in order to contribute to the prevention or mitigation of systemic risks to financial stability in the EU. It shall contribute to the smooth functioning of the internal market and thereby ensure a sustainable contribution of the financial sector to economic growth.
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Cape Verde–European Union relations Cape Verde is an island nation, part of the Macaronesian group of islands of the Atlantic Ocean and was a former Portuguese colony during the colonial era between 1460 and 1975. In March 2005 former Portuguese president Mário Soares launched a petition urging the European Union to start membership talks with it, saying that Cape Verde could act as a bridge between Africa, Latin America and the EU.
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Stock market downturn of 2002 In 2001, stock prices took a sharp downturn (some say "stock market crash" or "the Internet bubble bursting") in stock markets across the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe. After recovering from lows reached following the September 11 attacks, indices slid steadily starting in March 2002, with dramatic declines in July and September leading to lows last reached in 1997 and 1998. The U.S. dollar declined steadily against the euro, reaching a 1-to-1 valuation not seen since the euro's introduction.
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Europeans for Financial Reform Europeans for Financial Reform (EFFR) is a coalition dedicated to effecting reform in the financial and banking sectors. EFFR was created in Brussels on September 21, 2009, just over a year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the beginning of the financial crisis.
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Political career of Silvio Berlusconi The political career of Silvio Berlusconi began in 1994, when Berlusconi entered politics for the first time serving intermittent terms as Prime Minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011, his career was racked with controversies and trials; amongst these was his failure to honour his promise to sell his personal assets in Mediaset, the largest television broadcaster network in Italy, in order to dispel any perceived conflicts of interest.
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Central Bank of Malta The Central Bank of Malta (Maltese: "Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta" ) is the central bank of the Republic of Malta. It was established on 17 April 1968. In May 2004, when Malta joined the European Union, it became an integral part of the European System of Central Banks. It was responsible for, amongst other things, issuing Maltese lira banknotes and coins, before Malta adopted the euro in 2008 and the Bank became part of the Eurosystem.
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European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's nonprofit long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. As a "policy-driven bank" whose shareholders are the member states of the EU, the EIB uses its financing operations to bring about European integration and social cohesion. It should not be confused with the European Central Bank.
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Euro convergence criteria The euro convergence criteria (also known as the Maastricht criteria) are the criteria which European Union member states are required to meet to enter the third stage of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro as their currency. The four main criteria, which actually comprise five criteria as the "fiscal criterion" consist of both a "debt criterion" and a "deficit criterion", are based on (ex article 121.1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
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Mexican Weekend The Mexican Weekend marked the beginning of the Latin American debt crisis. In August 1982, Mexican Secretary of Finance Jesús Silva Herzog Flores flew to Washington, D.C., to declare Mexico's foreign debt unmanageable, and announce that his country was in danger of defaulting.
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1986 enlargement of the European Communities The 1986 enlargement of the European Communities was the third enlargement of what is now the European Union, then the European Communities (EC). Spain and Portugal acceded to the EC on 1 January 1986. It is considered a part of the Mediterranean enlargement.
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2008–09 Belgian financial crisis The 2008–2009 Belgian financial crisis is a major financial crisis that hit Belgium from mid-2008 onwards. Two of the country's largest banks – Fortis and Dexia – started to face severe problems, exacerbated by the financial problems hitting other banks around the world. The value of their stocks plunged. The government managed the situation by bailouts, selling off or nationalizing banks, providing bank guarantees and extending the deposit insurance. Eventually Fortis was split into two parts. The Dutch part was nationalized, while the Belgian part was sold to the French bank BNP Paribas. Dexia group was dismantled, Dexia Bank Belgium was nationalized.
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Greek withdrawal from the eurozone The Greek withdrawal from the eurozone is the potential exit of Greece from the eurozone, primarily for the country to deal with its government-debt crisis. This conjecture is often referred to as "Grexit", a portmanteau combining the English words "Greek" and "exit". The term "Graccident" (accidental Grexit) was coined for the case that Greece exited the EU and the euro without intention. These terms first came into use in 2012 and have been revitalised at each of the bailouts made available to Greece since then.
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Household debt Household debt is defined as the combined debt of all people in a household. It includes consumer debt and mortgage loans. A significant rise in the level of this debt coincides historically with many severe economic crises and was a cause of the U.S. and subsequent European economic crises of 2007–2012. Several economists have argued that lowering this debt is essential to economic recovery in the U.S. and selected Eurozone countries.
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Lisbon Agreement (1980) The Lisbon Agreement was the first of a series of agreements between the British and Spanish Governments intended to resolve their existing differences over Gibraltar.
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Eurosphere The Eurosphere or the European Empire is a concept associated with the public intellectual Mark Leonard, Oxford University academic Jan Zielonka, the European Union Director-General for Politico-Military Affairs Robert Cooper; and the European Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
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Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece The Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece, usually referred to as the second bailout package or the second memorandum, is a memorandum of understanding on financial assistance to the Hellenic Republic in order to cope with the Greek government-debt crisis.
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Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 The Portuguese succession crisis of 1580 (Portuguese: "Crise de sucessão de 1580" ) came about as a result of the death of young King Sebastian I of Portugal in the Battle of Alcácer Quibir in 1578. As Sebastian had no immediate heirs, this event prompted a dynastic crisis, with internal and external battles between several pretenders to the Portuguese throne; in addition, because Sebastian's body was never found, several impostors emerged over the next several years claiming to be the young king, further confusing the situation. Ultimately, Philip II of Spain gained control of the country, uniting the Portuguese and Spanish Crowns in the Iberian Union, a personal union that would last for 60 years, during which time the Portuguese Empire declined.