The Eurozone Crisis: Causes and Solutions The so-called "Eurozone crisis" began in 2009 when it became publicly known that Greece's national debt was above 113% of GDP. As a result, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy have joined the club with debt-to-GDP ratios above 100%. Investors worried about the level of sovereign debt, led to an increase in the bond yields of the affected countries, which effectively caused unsustainable deficits in those countries. Although the European Union took some preventative measures by establishing a rescue package, further political disagreements, lack of proper planning and compliance with the newly established rules, meant that the problem grew and continued in the period 2009-2013. It goes without saying that the Eurozone crisis with its complexity has had a major impact on the European and global economy. Since the Eurozone is the largest economy in the world, the impact of the crisis has been felt in Asia and also has some effect on the economic recovery of the United States (Eurostat, 2014). Furthermore, it highlighted the weakness of the Eurozone monetary system: the lack of sufficient monetary integration and the need for fiscal responsibility of member countries. Furthermore, implicit guarantees of Eurozone members' sovereign debts to investors have pushed interest rates down, which in return has given countries with weak economies the opportunity to borrow more – including governments, businesses and individual households to borrow more than they were. able to repay. Furthermore, long-term spending on social programs, such as public pensions and healthcare, further exceeded what countries' economies could pay for, and the required austerity measures contributed to public discontent and anger. In this article I will discuss... ... middle of paper ......ng. 2012. Network. 22 May 2014.Legrain, Philippe. "Eurozone voters have been blackmailed and betrayed. No wonder they are angry." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 May 2014. Web. 21 May 2014. McCormick, John and Jonathan Olsen. The European Union: politics and policies. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2014. Print.Nystrom, Michael. "Agreement reached with Cyprus: 40% seizure on accounts exceeding 100,000 euros." dailypaul.com. March 24, 2013. Web. May 22, 2014. Rogoff, Kenneth. “The Pig-Headed Masters of the Euro by Kenneth Rogoff.” RSS of the project union. Harvard University, 3 June 2011. Web. 21 May 2014. "Stability and Growth Pact." - European Commission. Network. May 21, 2014."What really caused the Eurozone crisis?" BBC News. BBC, 19 June 2012. Web. 21 May 2014. Zirulnick, Ariel. "The Eurozone crisis explained in simple graphs." The Christin Monitor, December 2, 2011. Web. May 22 2014.