World Economic Situations and
Prospects’ (WESP) Committee on the
European Debt Crisis
Hello all, and welcome to Fairfield University’s Model UN conference! It is very nice to
see so many high school students interested in today’s issues and current events. It is important
to keep up on the global issues that occur in our time today. My name is Kirk Leslie. I am from
Lanesboro, Massachusetts located in Berkshire County. My town is very small and I live ten
minutes from the New York border. I am currently a sophomore here at Fairfield and I major in
History with a concentration in Middle East studies.
One interesting fact about me is that I take Arabic as my foreign language. I am very
interested in the current issues in the Middle East, and would someday like to go there. Other
than that, my hobbies consist of sports, music, and keeping up on the issues in the Middle East.
Also, this is my second year participating in Fairfield University Model United Nations and I am
currently the treasurer for the club as well.
Fairfield, for me, has been a wonderful experience that I will carry for the rest of my life.
It’s not only the friends you make, but as well the teachers that want you to succeed. The
teachers here at Fairfield work with you whenever they can to make sure that you do well in their
course. The school is in a great area of Connecticut and I love to go into the town of Fairfield
itself. Downtown Fairfield is a beautiful place and the store I go to the most is the Fairfield
Bookstore. Two restaurants that I would recommend the most are Joe’s American Bar & Grill
and Archie Moore’s, but enough about Fairfield.
I am very ecstatic to be chairing the World Economic Situations Prospects Committee, or
WESP for short, and the European Debt Crisis. I chose this committee because I think it is very
interesting and relevant in our world today. Europe is currently facing one of its largest economic
downfalls in history. This is a problem because the European Union is a major contributor to the
World Market and economy. There have been improvements recently, but there has not been
very many major changes. A few topics we will be discussing as a group are the issues that led to
Europe’s economic downfall, the current state of its economy, and what can be done to prevent
future economic downturns from occurring. Most of the issue you will be presented is factual,
but I have put in a few more things to make the committee a little more exciting. I hope you
enjoy it.
Again, my name is Kirk Leslie. I am very excited to be working with you all. If you have
any concerns or questions, you can just send me an email. My email address is:
[email protected]. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, I am here to help you guys.
Also, don’t forget you need to email me your position papers. The deadline for these is Monday,
November 7th, 2013. Please don’t be late with them. Good luck and see you soon!
The World Economic Situations and Prospects is an annual meeting to discuss current
economic issues and figure out solutions to these problems. The WESP’s Committee on the
European Debt Crisis was called to deliberate upon the state of Europe’s economy and set out
resolutions for growth. The European Union’s economy collapsed a few years ago causing many
countries to head into recession. Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece require a bailout, but the
European Union doesn’t have the funds to bring in growth for their economies. In these times of
trouble, unemployment has risen substantially and little has been done to stop this. The world
market is on the brink of collapse and the United Kingdom, Germany, and France are threatening
to pull out of the European Union. Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece’s economies are about to go
into full recession. The United States has been sending money into Europe, but it’s not enough.
Members from the major countries and some staff from the UN Department of Economic
and Social Affairs meet to settle any differences, figure out the problem, and procure a solution
to the European Union’s economic downturn. The nations involved in this committee must
submit a resolution that is fair to all, while also bringing either a short-term or long-term solution
to the issue at hand. Participation from all parties involved is mandatory for a resolution to be put
through. The countries directly involved in this issue will have the floor first, followed by the
parties not directly involved. Even though the outside parties do not have the floor first, they are
just as important when it comes to passing resolutions and making important decisions.
History of the Committee
The United Nations’ World Economic Solutions and Projections committee meets at the
beginning of every year to project economic growth or decline of every country in the world. As
well as projecting this, the committee comes up with resolutions to help prevent recessions and
bolster economic growth. While all of this is true, the WESP’s Committee on the European Debt
Crisis is not real. Most of the situation above is real, but there are a few twists. The point of this
committee is to come up with a solution to the aforementioned issue and to test out what would
happen if the three biggest economies of the European Union were threatening to pull out. As
well, we want a fun, learning experience for all.
Background: In December of 2008, the European Union economy collapsed, sending
many countries into debt. This especially hurt people with student loans. Since then, student debt
has increased drastically, and unemployment is up. There are still strong economies in the region
but it is very hard for them to keep bailing out the ones that fail. The United Kingdom and
Germany are the two strongest economies under the European Union. Following them is France
and Estonia. The first country to fail under the European Union was Greece. Since then,
numerous others have come under. Here’s just a few statistics to show what has occurred from
2009 and on.
A few things have been done to help control the situation, but there hasn’t been enough to
fully pull out of the situation entirely. The European Union has accepted the bailout of some
countries in its budget but the situation does not seem to get any better. WESP has reported as of
January 2013 that there is weakening growth of only 2.4% from only 2.2% in 2012 in the world
economy. Its projection for 2014 is up to 3.2% growth. WESP foresees a stagnant fiscal year in
2013 with a moderate pickup in 2014 for financial growth. The European Debt Crisis has
stemmed short-term risks to certain policies.
Questions to Consider: (do not have to be answered)
What impact would the fall out of the European Union economic crisis have on other parts of the
world?
What would be the overall effect of the value of the euro be if the UK, France, and Germany
left?
How would alliances shift if the United Kingdom, Germany, and France left the EU?
What would happen to the global market if the EU was entirely broken up?
How can the EU overcome the current situation it’s in and bring back a stable economy?
Without the EU, would governments change their policies and make shifts to other types of
economic systems? (i.e. Capitalism, Socialism, Communism)
What will the global implications be if the EU is disbanded and how will the rest of the world
view it?
Will the situation hinder progress in Europe, while allowing for economic advancement in other
parts of the world, such as East Asia and South America?
Information resources:
WESP’s 2013 report:
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wesp/index.shtml#
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/world/europe/european-debt-crisis-fast-facts
http://www.icn.com/en/article/2013/04/08/five-main-reasons-for-debt-crisis/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16290598
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/five-things/the-european-debt-crisis/12287/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13798000
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/04/uk-spain-bonds-idUKBRE9630I820130704
Please look through all. They might have useful things to help you with your position papers and
for when it comes to conference time. Also, go find your own resources, the more information
you have on the topic, the better you will do.
Sir Jon Cunliffe
UK Representative to EU
Pro Leaving EU
David Cameron
UK Prime Minister
Pro Leaving EU
Danny Alexander
UK Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Pro Leaving EU
Dr. Guido Westerwelle
German Foreign Minister
Pro Leaving EU
Peter Tempel
German Rep. to EU
Pro Leaving EU
Wolfgang Schäuble
German Minister of Finance
Pro Leaving EU
François Hollande
French President
Pro Leaving EU
Etienne Phillippe
French Rep. to EU
Pro Leaving EU
Théodoros Sotiropoulos
Greek Rep. to EU
Pro Staying with EU
Antonis Samaras
Greek Prime Minister
Alfonso Dastis Quecedo
Spain Rep. to EU
Pro Staying with EU
Pro Staying with EU
Mariano Rajoy
Spain Prime Minister
Pro Staying with EU
Domingos Fezas Vital
Portugal Rep. to EU
Pro Staying with EU
Enrico Letta
Italy Prime Minister
Pro Staying with EU
Stefano Sannino
Italy Rep. to EU
Pro Staying with EU
Jacob Lew
US Secretary of the Treasurer
Neutral
Pedro Passos Coelho
Portugal Prime Minister
Pro Staying with EU
Susan Rice
US Ambassador to UN
Neutral
Flavio Zanonato
Italy Minister of Econ. Dev.
Pro Staying with EU
Christine Lagarde
Managing Director of IMF
Neutral
Wu Hongbo
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Neutral
Shamshad Akhtar
Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development
Neutral