Comment in Press TV News 12-7-2016 on EU’s sanctions on Portugal and Spain

 

The main points of my comment are the following:

The imposition of sanctions by the EU on Spain and Portugal for failing to stick to the required economic targets is definitely counterproductive for these countries. It will certainly worsen their already bad economic situation.

The increasing economic problems of Spain and Portugal are symptoms of the continuing and deteriorating crisis of the EU and its Eurozone.

The case of Portugal is particularly significant as it has been touted as a case of successful implementation of an EU austerity adjustment programme. The threat of sanctions and of a new austerity programme are proofs of the failure of the previous one.

These problems go together with the newly emerged banking problems in Italy. And Germany’s own banking problems (e.g. Deutche Bank) lurk behind. And of course there is the continuing for seven years Greek tragedy.

All these are signs that EU is a failed economic and political structure, serving the interests of its dominant countries at the expense of its subservient ones but becoming more and more inoperative nowadays.

EU’s dominant elites are before a conundrum. They have to discipline Portugal and Spain for being ‘bad pupils’ and they want to do the same for Italy; but this is more dangerous both economically and politically. By guess is that they discipline the Iberian duet and they will try to find a compromise with Italy.

In any case the crisis of the EU will continue unabatingly.

 

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