Effects of Government Intervention

This final part of the original research summarises the main findings and draws conclusions regarding the proportionality of EU intervention in Member States after 2007–2008 including quantifying them from publicly available data. The effects of intervention on unemployment and economic growth are summarised, and found to have had a varied impact across the Members States, with Southern European countries being more negatively affected than northern nations. The influence of austerity measures is evaluated employing evidence from diverse sources, and the EU intervention of a single policy for the economic recovery of all Member States is found to be flawed. The reluctance of EU to consider advice from outside its own advisers, an inability to learn, is identified as a reason for its failure to implement suitable interventions to support reviving the economies of all Eurozone Member States, rather than just those with low initial deficits. The final section demonstrates that the Principle of Proportionality had not been applied appropriately during this period as demonstrated, for instance, by the substantial divergence in the social and economic consequences of EU interventions in Member States and the dominant influence of Germany on EU policy and changes to legislation. The major spillover effects on Eurozone and non-Eurozone members are also summarised.