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EU politicians call Brussels summit a success | Europe | DW.DE | 28.06.2013
~So now that Latvia will adopt the euro, lets see how well its economy will thrive with a currency that is far more expensive than what it has now, roughly, 30%. 1 lats = 0.7euros. Google "lats to euro" to find the up-to-date conversion. Now Latvia won't adopt the euro overnight. I think it's a 2 year process but I am not 100% certain on that.
~Yeah. So Serbia doesn't recognize Kosovo, a small country that takes about 1/8th of Serbia. Kosovo is recognized by 101/193 countries in the world, including 22/27 EU countries. Which can make for some interesting dynamics and may be a hurdle to jump over next year when Serbia begins tough negotiations to enter the EU.
Positive economic and financial news have been the norm when it comes to what the politicians say. They always throw a temper tantrum every now and then for a few days and then they spend weeks and months spreading good news saying that everything will be alright and good new all round.
However, Greece's unemployment is around 50% for the youth, around 30%, Spain isn't all that different either, Italy is hanging around 20% and next year, the UK will be faced with a massive political struggle in the case of the Scottish independence referendum. Frankly, the only countries that haven't had much problems in the EU have been Germany and Austria and Poland. That's it. Poland isn't a eurozone country though. And France has had a political scandal every week since the new years.
Latvia joins the euro. Croatia joins the European Union. Serbia enters EU accession talks and Kosovo expands its ties with the bloc. A sense of optimism ruled at the two-day EU leaders summit.
The summit ended with a number of positive notes. It was able to lift a bit off the dark mood in the bloc caused by recessions and unemployment: Latvia met the conditions to join the eurozone common currency area as of January 1. With a budget deficit of just over 1 percent and state debt of about 40 percent of economic output, the Baltic country has statistics that make many long-standing euro members jealous.
~So now that Latvia will adopt the euro, lets see how well its economy will thrive with a currency that is far more expensive than what it has now, roughly, 30%. 1 lats = 0.7euros. Google "lats to euro" to find the up-to-date conversion. Now Latvia won't adopt the euro overnight. I think it's a 2 year process but I am not 100% certain on that.
Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence
The EU itself will also be growing - both next month and possibly in coming years. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy welcomed Croatia to the European Union, which it will officially join on July 1. He also said European leaders have "agreed to open accession negotiations with Serbia, and taken a key step in our relations with Kosovo."
~Yeah. So Serbia doesn't recognize Kosovo, a small country that takes about 1/8th of Serbia. Kosovo is recognized by 101/193 countries in the world, including 22/27 EU countries. Which can make for some interesting dynamics and may be a hurdle to jump over next year when Serbia begins tough negotiations to enter the EU.
There was also positive economic and financial news to report from the two-day summit in Brussels. The multiyear EU financial framework for 2014-2020 answered who will pay should banks in the EU require another bailout and leaders agreed on a project to reduce youth unemployment across the bloc.
Positive economic and financial news have been the norm when it comes to what the politicians say. They always throw a temper tantrum every now and then for a few days and then they spend weeks and months spreading good news saying that everything will be alright and good new all round.
However, Greece's unemployment is around 50% for the youth, around 30%, Spain isn't all that different either, Italy is hanging around 20% and next year, the UK will be faced with a massive political struggle in the case of the Scottish independence referendum. Frankly, the only countries that haven't had much problems in the EU have been Germany and Austria and Poland. That's it. Poland isn't a eurozone country though. And France has had a political scandal every week since the new years.