"Eurocrisis" (also called European debt crisis) is a financial crisis that has gripped the euro zone since early 2010, after it was revealed that Greece had provided false information about its debts. This caused great turmoil in the financial markets and put the future of the common currency, the euro, at risk. In addition to Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Cyprus, and Spain also needed financial support to keep their heads above water.

The crisis forced European government leaders and ministers, under intense pressure from the financial markets, to quickly build missing elements of economic and monetary union, including the creation of the European Stability Mechanism (a permanent emergency fund), a common economic and fiscal policy, and the development of a banking union.

The greatest panic in the euro crisis did not disappear until the summer of 2012, after Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), promised at a historic press conference, "Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough."