The European Crisis came at a tumultuous time when the world was grappling with one of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of 1930s, the 2008 world economic slowdown. European crisis involved very high sovereign debt of member states, bad economic health of financial institutions, increasing issues of government securities to repay debt. The contagion broke with the breakdown of financial institution of Iceland, soon it embroiled the susceptible members namely, PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Greece and Spain. More member states were adversely affected but the worse hit were PUGS countries, thus precipitating the European sovereign debt crisis. European Union till recently had been the most successful model of regional integration at political level.

But, in the recent times it has been severely jolted by the Eurozone economic crisis, refugee influx, instances of terrorist attacks, thereby raising questions about the integration objectives. These entire crises have roots which the member countries overlooked and timely response did not come through raising questions about the integration process.

European crisis, for a comprehensive understanding requires the analysis of the episodes preceding it. Why the member countries came together to form the Eurozone and what were the external or internal reasons which precipitated the crisis and spread like a wild fire gutting the entire European Union. 

Eurozone is a monetary union which comprises of 19 states of the 28 European Union members. Euro is their sole currency or the sole legal tender, as mode of payment to fulfill their financial obligations. The Eurozone consists of, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.