PIIGS

The so-called PIIGS states on the EU map

The acronym PIIGS is during the Euro crisis in 2010 for the five euro countries P ortugal , I taly , I reland , G reece and S panien resulting abbreviation.

The states are assumed to have such a high level of national debt that they are threatened with national bankruptcy (see list of countries by national debt ratio ). Since the name is reminiscent of the English word pigs ( German "pigs" ), it has the role of an acronym with derogatory connotations .

Originally, Anglo-Saxon journalists also used the term PIGS states in 2008 . Here the "I" stood for Italy.

Occasionally, that also meant derogatory acronym is GIPSI (used English gypsy , German Gypsies ), some with another I for I sland even though that State member of the non- EU and has its own currency. The acronym is also - seldom - extended by another G to include Great Britain (actually United Kingdom ). Another variant is the order GIIPS , where the G for Greece is mentioned first. If you add Belgium, which is also heavily indebted, the acronym BIG SIP ( German “big sip” ) becomes a rather neutral name.

Because of its disrespectful character, the term has repeatedly been criticized, especially among the public in the states concerned.

Web links

Commons : PIIGS - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Richard Deiss: The navel of the moon and the tear in the Indian Ocean: 333 country leg names and how it came to them . Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2008. - ISBN 978-3-8370-5910-6 . P. 21.
↑ Tagesschau.de (Ed.): 80 billion euros invested in PIIGS countries ( Memento from May 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (from May 7, 2010, read: June 27, 2010)
^ Elman, Robert: PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) II and the Greek crisis. In: THE METROPOLITAIN (from April 23, 2010, read: June 27, 2010)
^ David Smith: Reform failures may still kill off the euro , The Sunday Times . May 25, 2008.
↑ Name “Gipsi” next to “PIIGS”.
↑ Wirtschaftsblatt article of March 30, 2010, the PIIGGS related.
↑ Business Week, January 19, 2012, Morgan Stanley restructures derivatives deal to cut giips-risk
↑ Berliner Zeitung of December 16, 2010
↑ So in Spain by Soledad Gallego Díaz, Sentido de la realidad , in El País , March 7, 2010, with the ironic suggestion that the abbreviation FUCKING ("France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany") be used for the richer EU states use.

[1] Richard Deiss: The navel of the moon and the tear in the Indian Ocean: 333 country leg names and how it came to them . Norderstedt: Books on Demand, 2008. - ISBN 978-3-8370-5910-6 . P. 21.

[2] Tagesschau.de (Ed.): 80 billion euros invested in PIIGS countries ( Memento from May 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (from May 7, 2010, read: June 27, 2010)

[3] Elman, Robert: PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) II and the Greek crisis. In: THE METROPOLITAIN (from April 23, 2010, read: June 27, 2010)

[4] David Smith: Reform failures may still kill off the euro , The Sunday Times . May 25, 2008.

[5] Name “Gipsi” next to “PIIGS”.

[6] Wirtschaftsblatt article of March 30, 2010, the PIIGGS related.

[7] Business Week, January 19, 2012, Morgan Stanley restructures derivatives deal to cut giips-risk

[8] Berliner Zeitung of December 16, 2010

[9] So in Spain by Soledad Gallego Díaz, Sentido de la realidad , in El País , March 7, 2010, with the ironic suggestion that the abbreviation FUCKING ("France, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany") be used for the richer EU states use.