ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

European sovereign debt crisis

Okay kiddo, let's learn about the European Sovereign Debt Crisis!

Basically, some countries in Europe - like Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland - borrowed lots of money from banks and other countries to pay for things like building roads and schools, helping people who were struggling, and running their government.

But then those countries started having trouble paying back all that money they borrowed. It's kind of like if you borrowed a lot of money from your friend to buy lots of candy, and then you couldn't pay them back because you didn't earn any more money.

This made the banks and other countries upset and worried that they wouldn't get their money back. And if those countries couldn't pay back their debts, it could make things worse for everyone in Europe.

So, some countries and organizations (like the European Union and the International Monetary Fund) tried to help by giving those countries more money, but they had to promise to cut their spending and make other difficult changes to their economies.

It's kind of like if your mom or dad gave you more money to pay back your friend, but said you had to stop buying so much candy and start saving your money more wisely.

The crisis has been going on for several years now, and it hasn't been easy for the countries involved. But they're working hard to try to fix things and prevent it from happening again in the future.