Editing Euro (section)

===Eurozone crisis===
{{main|European debt crisis|Greek government-debt crisis}}
{{see also|2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis}}

[[File:Europe bonds sovereign debt crisis.webp|thumb|300px|European 10 year bonds, before the [[Great Recession in Europe]] bonds floated together in parity
{{legend-line|#001489 solid 3px|[[Greece]] 10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#046A38 solid 3px|[[Portugal]] 10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#FF8200 solid 3px|[[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] 10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#F1BF00 solid 3px|[[Spain]] 10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#CD212A solid 3px|[[Italy]] 10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#970E53 solid 3px|[[France]] 10 year bond}}
{{legend-line|#000000 solid 3px|[[Germany]] 10 year bond}}
]]

Following the [[2008 financial crisis]], fears of a [[sovereign default]] developed in 2009 among investors concerning some European states, with the situation becoming particularly tense in [[2000s European sovereign debt crisis timeline|early 2010]].<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61F0W720100216 |title=Peripheral euro zone government bond spreads widen |work=Reuters |author=George Matlock |date=16 February 2010 |access-date=28 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/16009099 | title=Acropolis now |newspaper=The Economist |date=29 April 2010 |access-date=22 June 2011}}</ref> [[Economy of Greece|Greece]] was most acutely affected, but fellow Eurozone members [[Economy of Cyprus|Cyprus]], [[Economy of the Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], [[Economy of Italy|Italy]], [[Economy of Portugal|Portugal]], and [[Economy of Spain|Spain]] were also significantly affected.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/27/world/europe/european-debt-crisis-fast-facts/index.html European Debt Crisis Fast Facts], CNN Library (last updated 22 January 2017).</ref><ref>[[Ricardo Reis]], [https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/PDFReisTextFallBPEA.pdf Looking for a Success in the Euro Crisis Adjustment Programs: The Case of Portugal], ''Brookings Papers on Economic Activity'', [[Brookings Institution]] (Fall 2015), p. 433.</ref> All these countries used EU funds except Italy, which is a major donor to the EFSF.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linkiesta.it/it/article/2011/11/04/efsf-come-funziona-il-fondo-salvastati-europeo/2302/|title=Efsf, come funziona il fondo salvastati europeo|date=4 November 2011}}</ref> To be included in the eurozone, countries had to fulfil certain [[Euro convergence criteria|convergence criteria]], but the meaningfulness of such criteria was diminished by the fact it was not enforced with the same level of strictness among countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/3454 |title=The politics of the Maastricht convergence criteria|publisher=VoxEU |date=15 April 2009 |access-date=1 October 2011}}</ref>

According to the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] in 2011, "[I]f the [euro area] is treated as a single entity, its [economic and fiscal] position looks no worse and in some respects, rather better than that of the US or the UK" and the budget deficit for the euro area as a whole is much lower and the euro area's government debt/GDP ratio of 86% in 2010 was about the same level as that of the United States. "Moreover", they write, "private-sector indebtedness across the euro area as a whole is markedly lower than in the highly leveraged [[Anglosphere|Anglo-Saxon]] economies". The authors conclude that the crisis "is as much political as economic" and the result of the fact that the euro area lacks the support of "institutional [[paraphernalia]] (and mutual bonds of solidarity) of a state".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pages.eiu.com/rs/eiu2/images/EuroDebtPaperMarch2011.pdf |title=State of the Union: Can the euro zone survive its debt crisis?|page=4 |publisher=[[Economist Intelligence Unit]] |date=1 March 2011 |access-date=1 December 2011}}</ref>

The crisis continued with S&P downgrading the credit rating of nine euro-area countries, including France, then downgrading the entire [[European Financial Stability Facility]] (EFSF) fund.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-efsf-sp-idUSTRE80F1OV20120116|title=S&P downgrades euro zone's EFSF bailout fund|date=2017-01-16|work=Reuters|access-date=2017-01-21}}</ref>

A historical parallel&nbsp;– to 1931 when Germany was burdened with debt, unemployment and austerity while France and the United States were relatively strong creditors&nbsp;– [[Liaquat Ahamed#Lords of Finance|gained attention]] in summer 2012<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-crisis-brings-world-to-brink-of-depression-2012-07-24 |title=Euro crisis brings world to brink of depression |first=Darrell | last= Delamaide |website=MarketWatch |date=24 July 2012 |access-date=24 July 2012}}</ref> even as Germany received a [[Bond credit rating#Credit rating agencies|debt-rating]] warning of its own.<ref>Lindner, Fabian, "[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jul/24/germany-moodys-warning-shot-eurozone Germany would do well to heed the Moody's warning shot]", ''The Guardian'', 24 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.</ref><ref>Buergin, Rainer, "[http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-M7MTLK6K50YQ01-2MU1077HDEEK0FPVVG6AUS88JB Germany, Juncker Push Back After Moody's Rating Outlook Cuts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728105157/http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-M7MTLK6K50YQ01-2MU1077HDEEK0FPVVG6AUS88JB |date=28 July 2012 }}", ''washpost.bloomberg'', 24 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.</ref>