EUROPEAN UNIONSOUTH

SPAIN
Capital: Madrid Population: 45,989,000 HDI Rank 23th

FRANCE
Capital: Paris Population: 62,791,000 HDI Rank 20th

ITALY
Capital: Rome Population: 60, 340,000 HDI Rank 24th

GREECE
Capital: Athens Population:11,305,000 HDI Rank 29th

ECONOMY: WHY IS THE REGION STRUGGLING?

FDI from wealthier
nations redirected to Eastern European countries

Globalization took away

many cheap labor, lowtech industries and put them in places with cheaper available labor

Difficulty in the adoption

of the Euro

TRADE ENVIRONMENT
800 700 600 500 400 Exports Imports

300 200
100 0 France Spain Italy Greece

* $ Million

TRADE ENVIRONMENT
France
Ex: Machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, steel

Spain
Ex: Motor vehicles, foods, medicine Imp: Machinery, iron/steel

Italy
Ex: Engineering products, textiles, machinery Imp: Engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment

Greece
Ex: Foods, beverages, manufactured goods

Imp: Crude oil, aircraft/vehicles, machinery/equipment

Imp: Machinery, transport equipment

IMPACT OF TOURISM
Greece ranks 17th (15%GDP)

1st World Rank 107 Billion EUR (10.9 %GDP) 4th World Rank 81 Billion EUR (17.2%GDP) 5th World Rank 43 Billion EUR (9.7%GPD)

USA 3% GDP

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Parliamentary

Government Assistance

Union for the Mediterranean

EU Legislature

LEGAL CONDITIONS
Traditional, not Rational/Legal Except France Functions of EU law Federal set of laws

Sources of EU law
Primary Secondary Supplemental EU Court of Justice

EURO ZONE
Facilitate trade across country borders and keep prices down

$1=0.77 EUR

FTA and Custom Unions

23 countries use the Euro as official currency

Speculations about EU viability

CURRENT FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

Collection Agencies Elimination of Payroll taxes in France Government Bonds

INFRAESTRUCTURE
Excellent motorways and railways
thanks to heavy investments
in Spain, France and Italy

Air transportation is good and

relatively cheap: 250 airlines
aprox. operating in the region

The Atlantic and Mediterranean

coasts offer great maritime transportation: Marseille, Valencia.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS
HIGH CONTEXT CULTURES

LANGUAGES
FRENCH SPANISH ITALIAN GREEK

RELIGION
ROMAN CATHOLICISM EXCEPT GREECE (Orthodox)

Importance to project good taste in apparel

Cheek Kissing as greeting: Woman-Woman Men- Woman

Very low masculinity score in France and Spain

High Power Distance

In general, time is relaxed

INTERESTING FACTS
When attending a business dinner in Spain, be prepared
to say up late. They do not have dinner until after 9 pm.

A Spaniard invented the mop!!! France is the most visited country in the world with 75
million tourist yearly

When McDonald's opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists

outside the restaurant gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage

 Paris is often called City of Lights; lights refers to the

number of intellectuals who lived there

Italians claim to have taught the rest of Europe how to Greece is the worlds third leading producer of olives No one in Greece can choose not to vote. Voting is
required by law for every citizen who is 18 or older.

cook. Italy is responsible for introducing the world to ice cream (via the Chinese), coffee, and fruit pies.

Many Greek structures such as doors, windowsills and

furniture are painted a turquoise blue. It is used because of an ancient belief that this shade of blue keeps evil away.