http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/20050608/ts_krwashbureau/_bc_eu_euro_wa_1

do italians feel going back to thier currency would be better?

Cilento, good question! I'm curious myself after reading the article. The comparison regarding how a single currency operates well within the states vs the problems it's generating within the EU was very interesting!

Any opinions out there? The Euro seems to have a mind of it's own in regards to whose economy it's boosting.

An already strapped economy would have to reprint and recoin all the money? And then give yet another opportunity to the gougers to raise prices?

Not consderoing that Roberto Maroni completed his wonderful plan of going back to the lire by saying that the value of the lire should be connected to the Dollar. Basically his idea os to issue a "Lira convertible", just like Cuba's peso convertible, which is a Cuban Peso, printed in Cuba and valid only in Cuba, that has exactly the same value as the dollar and is always exchanged 1/1. Now, the point is that the US Dollar itself is not doing particularly well, especially against the Euro...

The Euro problems are no different then the problems the US or for that matter Canada has. If one part of the US is doing really well and one part is doing badly you've still only got one interest rate policy in the US. The claim that people can just pick up and move in the US is nice but I wonder how realistic it is. How many people can afford to sell houses in weak markets to move to hot markets?

New money wouldn't be that big an issue. They recycle paper money all the time and even coins get changed after awhile. During the 70's didn't Italy come out with new Liras every so often to deal with inflation?

Also remember the main problem the Euro has had is it's been too STRONG. It's harder to export with a strong Euro.

I can't see an Italian Lira tied to the US dollar being any better. A weak lira might help Italian exporters but not one tied to the US $.

Nick, I thought the same thing--how many people in the U.S. are truly shifting about the states to find work? I agree that the Euro has been too high for it's own good and our dollar-- agh! Don't get me started on that!

But in the US the goegraphics taker over

Sure it is uncommmon to move from coast to coast, but moving for work from state to state is not uncommon at all. I can go from CT to California and speak the same langauge, undrstand the laws, and locally cultures
I would imagine Turkey is quite different from holland and From France

I think that is where the EU fails, in the culture that lie beneath it

True Cilento, if one must move about for work it'd certainly be less of a struggle in the states for the above reasons you'd mentioned.

Has the EU Central Bank taken any action I wonder to sit on the Euro a bit I wonder?

Please eliminate one of the "I wonders"--very tired today!

As adual American / Italian citizen I personally would like to see ITaly go back to the Lira, but that maybe for selfish reasons I guess

I work here in the US but enjoyed the good exchange rate I got in Italy

One point to remember is that Italy has done well under the euro. I read an article showing how Italian exports within Europe were much higher now than in pre-Euro times. Sorry, no hard-and-fast figures, but outside the Euro I imagine the lira would falter.

Moving from state to state would be a normal commute for many. Right now I wonder how many EU members live in one country and work across the border in the next. Live in North West Italy and work in France?

When they talk about labour mobility they're really talking about people without jobs moving. They aren't talking about people being moved by the company. While some things [language] are easier in the US others will be harder. Move with in most EU nations and you'll have some sort of health care. If you're just going across the border [state to state] then the culture won't be that different. Many of the borders are relatively new. The French Riveria was Italian until the 1860's( 50's?). The people and culture just isn't that big a difference when you're talking about small moves. Sure a greek island to the baltic will be a change.


I'm not suprised under the Euro Italy is trading more within the EU. The high euro has hurt other markets.

The ECB has more or less refused to lower rates. Now they're talking about maybe lowering rates.

Nick: It is quite common to commute between southern Sweden and Denmark or northern Germany.
Although, there are also many people living in Sweden working in Norway (not EU members) because of the prices being even higher in Norway than here (!!!!), so this might not ONLY be a matter of EU or not EU, but it sure helps!

Once more to Cilento; the idea of EU has NEVER been to create a new US in terms of having a mutual language, erasing cultural differences, forgetting about ancient history.
European countries have a history that is quite different from the US history (no offense!); things that have happened after the 18th century are basically considered modern and new rather than historical. History to us means the middle ages; what happened 300-400-500-1000-2000-more years ago. That cannot be erased, and I bet that there is no way in that the Italians are willing to consider their history (with the Roman empire and everything) the same as Finland's history, and vice versa.

Annika, do you think that could be somewhat of a partial fear about the EU-- maybe a fear of cultures becoming somewhat homoginized within it eventually? Maybe, there's a fear of eventually loosing their cultures identities even though that was certainly not the intention of it!

Lots o Italian citizens from Lombardy commute across the border to Switzerland, which is not even in the EU. Another pretty common commute is between Belgium (and Germany) to Luxembourg.

Pia - I don't know. Could be. I can't see how that could happen though, as the differences are too big. But you could be right!

The creation of the EU was to have a single currency on the global market that could rival the US dollar and to also have a constituency 300 plus million to back it up

sure there were probably some other reasons but I think as usual, the cultures of each country weil win out and they would rather keep their own identity.

Every day I listen to a Frehcn gentleman nex tto me complain about how his country is be changed daily by the influx of immigrants

Funny if I say tht here in the US I am a racist, althogyuh the US is the country of immigrants

uhm if you say that here you would be considered a racist too. Has it occurred to you that your French friend might have some racist opinions? And that he might not know everything? After all, he IS living in the US now and not here where it all happens.

EU is a way to create freedom for the people, freedom to choose where to live and where to work, to simplify trade, to minimize the risk of war between the member countries (we don't want a WW III) AND to boost the economy within the EU.
Not to create one big country called Europe.

The accent on economy is pretty recent. Until the late 1960's it was not there at all, and the economic side of the whole thing, while not secondary, was just one of the many faces of the whole thing. Certainly cultural and historical, as well as social and poltical issues, were just as central.

I agree with you to an extent

I can say for sure my friend nor I is a racist. I think the things you have listed may be true and that may be what the EU was sold on, but I think a currency to rival the dollar in the global market is firt and foremost the reason

Cilento, please, do not lecture about European contemporary history people who live in Europe and studied European contemporary history at school. EU was not created for economy-connected reasons, and these took importance only in the past thirty years (historically nothing!). Your opinions on politics and economy theories are perfectly legitimate, but here we are talking about facts and, believe it or not, I studied contemporary European history at school, and so I suppose did Annika. We are talking about facts, not opinions neither theories.

I also studied contemporary European History in school and have an advanced degree in international business and am a dual US/ Italian citiezen. I think that may qualify my opinons somewhat.

While the other issues may have been the original cause the primary or underlying cause was money. Global corporations would now be able to float debt long term and short term in a currency markets not tied to the dollar

Certainly if they came out and said for the reason above that is why they wanted a EU currency There would have been an uproar

EU citenzens are just as exposed to money propanganda as is the US and the world

quote:

I studied contemporary European history at school, and so I suppose did Annika

I sure did. I hated it, but I did.

People forget Europe is full of immigrants. Always has been. I guess when national borders started meaning passports and visas it slowed down the natural movements. But even with that people have moved around Europe for ever.

Da Vinci ended up in France.
Plenty of Italians ended up in the Austrian-Hungarian capitals.

In more modern times. Italians moved to Germany,France and Switzerland.

I know one woman whose mother worked in Italy,Switzerland, UK and then Canada. Thanks to the combined pension agreements she manages to get a pension. Maybe the pension agreement is a good example of how common worker movement is? For years governments have allowed people to pool contributions from various countries because the number of workers that have worked in more then one country is so large.

but Cilento for crying out loud, have you heard about EMU? The EU (European Union) and the EMU (European Monetary Union) are different things. I live in a country that is a member of EU but not EMU.
EU is not only about money. It is about peace. You should know where the world wars started if you have studied contemporary history. THAT is what EU is meant to avoid - among other things.