The Independent
Russell Lynch, 25 August 2012
From suffering PIIGS to violent protests, from an unbreakable currency to ideas for a swift exit, Russell Lynch charts the past two years of strife on the Continent
Back in heady pre-credit crunch days, Europe was a place you went on holiday, rather than a byword for financial meltdown and recession. Now it's virtually impossible to see the word eurozone in a sentence without the phrase debt crisis following close behind. After more than two years of turmoil on the Continent, and still no signs of a solution in sight, readers may be struggling to keep up. Here's a handy A-Z guide to all you need to know.
A is for Angela Merkel, German Chancellor and undisputed queen of the eurozone, who's currently trying to keep the whole show on the road, while placating resentful German voters. With Germany's banks already propping up the region with more than €700bn (£553bn) she's opposed to anything increasing their exposure. Not popular with PIIGs (see B, P and N).
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