The European debt crisis was a big problem that happened in Europe starting in 2010. It was caused when some countries in Europe (Greece, Italy, and a few others) ran out of money to pay for their bills. Instead of having enough money to pay their bills, these countries had to borrow money from other countries in Europe or from banks. But it got to the point where the countries couldn't pay back all the money they had borrowed, so it became a big problem for Europe.