There was a time when some countries in Europe were having trouble paying back the money they borrowed from other countries and banks. This was called the European sovereign-debt crisis.
Let's imagine a group of friends playing a game of pretend.Each friend pretended to be a country in Europe. They all borrowed money from each other just like countries do in real life. One day, some of the friends realized they didn't have enough money to pay back what they owed, and this made the other friends nervous.
The first group of friends who ran into trouble were Greece, Portugal, and Ireland. The second group included Spain and Italy. These countries didn't have enough money to pay for the things they needed like roads, schools, and hospitals. So they had to borrow some more money.
This is where the other friends got really worried, because if these countries couldn't pay back the money they borrowed, then everyone who lent them money would lose a lot of money too.
Some of the friends who lent money to these countries were banks located in different parts of Europe, and this became a problem for them. If Greece, Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Ireland cannot pay back their debts, then these banks could go bankrupt.
The leaders of these countries and banks tried to come up with a plan to solve the problem, but it wasn't easy. They talked about the idea of giving more money to these countries so they could pay off their debts, but this would only add to their debt.
Eventually, the countries and banks had to make some difficult decisions and work together to find a way out of this problem. They knew it would be a long and tough process, but they were determined to figure out a solution.
So in the end, the European sovereign-debt crisis had many protagonists, including Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Italy, banks located in different parts of Europe, and the leaders of these countries and banks. They all played a role in this complicated story, trying to find ways to get out of debt and prevent a financial disaster.