Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Following the banking crisis of 2008, which caused several of the largest banks and financial institutions in the US and Britain to seek government bailout or to file for bankruptcy, Europe endured a second economic crisis in 2011-2012. This time, it was caused by the huge debts incurred by several countries. Among the worst sufferers were Ireland and Greece, both members of the European single currency, the Euro, which had been introduced in 1999. . . . To regain the confidence of the markets and meet its debt repayments, Greece was forced to adopt tough austerity measures, backed by a bailout and huge guarantees from the rest of the so-called Eurozone. . . . The Euro crisis continued to prove intractable and forced the continent into recession in 2012." [Furtado: 1001 Days]