The crisis began in the aftermath of the 2008 Financial Crisis. Greece announced that it had been understating its budget deficit for years now to portray economic stability. In 2012, Greece was not permitted to borrow from financial markets and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The Troika (IMF, ECB, European Commission) issued 2 bailouts valued at €240 billion. But these loans came with harsh austerity measures – government budget cuts and tax raises. This further exacerbated the situation.
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