Europe 2011: Eurozone Crisis

In 2008 a major financial crisis had broken out in the US and rapidly spread to Europe. Its impact was greatest on Greece, Ireland and Portugal, small countries who had joined the single currency eurozone in the previous decade and were now heavily in debt in a currency over which they had no control.

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Main Events

1 Apr 2009 Adriatic Charter and France

In 2003, after the other seven of the Vilnius Group members had been invited to join NATO but they had not, Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia formed the Adriatic Charter to lobby for their membership. Although Macedonia was held back due to its naming dispute with Greece, Albania and Croatia went on to achieve full NATO membership on 1 April 2009. At the same time France returned to the integrated command of NATO, ending a period of reduced cooperation with the United States that had begun in 1966. in wikipedia

30 Jun 2009–18 Dec 2011 US withdrawal from Iraq

Following international and domestic pressure, the United States and its remaining Coalition partners planned in 2007 to withdraw from Iraq. In accordance with a Status of Forces agreement, US withdrawal began on 30 June 2009 and completed on 18 December 2011, officially ending the Iraq War.in wikipedia

23 Apr 2010–20 Aug 2018 European Debt Crisis

As part of the 1993 Treaty of Maastricht, EU member states had agreed to limit deficit spending, but this was largely ignored, and became impracticable during the Great Recession. As a result, many poorer Eurozone members had their credit downgraded and responded by imposing aggressive austerity measures, further stagnating their economies and fomenting political unrest. Bailout programs arranged for Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, and Cyprus lasted until 2014–18, by which time economic revival and improved structural deficits in these countries had resolved the crisis. in wikipedia

17 Dec 2010–3 Feb 2012 Arab Spring

Starting in Tunisia, revolutionary protests swept the Arab world. The Tunisian government was overthrown in January 2011; President Hosni Mubarak resigned in Egypt in February; Libya collapsed into a civil war, leading to the capture and execution of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in October. Protests also occurred in Oman, Yemen, Syria, and Morocco. However by early 2012, the tide had subsided and the regimes had begun to reassert themselves.in wikipedia

19 Mar–31 Oct 2011 2011 Military Intervention in Libya

After just two weeks of fighting, the Libyan Civil War had ground to a bloody stalemate, with Gaddafi’s troops controlling Tripolitania and Fezzan and the newly-formed National Transitional Council controlling Cyrenaica. When UN sanctions proved unable to keep Gaddafi from pushing back, NATO intervened on behalf of the NTC.in wikipedia