The document discusses the global economic crisis that began in 2007 and its causes and consequences. It identifies the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States as the immediate trigger that spread worldwide. This led to a financial crisis as banks and institutions failed, resulting in a credit crunch that impacted the real economy through reduced growth, rising unemployment, and falling consumption and investment. A subsequent European sovereign debt crisis further threatened the global economy from 2009 onward as countries like Ireland, Portugal, and Greece struggled with rising debt levels and faced austerity measures and bailouts. The crisis revealed weaknesses in the Eurozone system and spurred various emergency measures, though a long-term solution of a European fiscal union is still being worked toward.