Greece experienced a debt crisis when its deficit exceeded 12.7% of GDP and national debt reached over 300 billion Euros. The Greek government requested a bailout package from the EU and IMF worth €45 billion to help repay imminent debts and negotiate financing. However, bailing out Greece was challenging under EU laws requiring deficit levels below 3% of GDP. The crisis highlighted Greece as the eurozone's weakest economy and hurt the EU's reputation, threatening the stability of the single European currency.