Greece in crisis: How European debt problems affect you last updated at 11:51 GMT, Friday, 22 July 2011 12:51 UK

If you go away this summer, there's a good chance you'll be getting some euros.

Many European countries use it but the currency has been in crisis.
Since last May, Greece, Ireland and Portugal have all been bailed out after running up huge debts. Now Greece is accepting another £96bn rescue package.
But why might the problems in the 'Eurozone' make any difference to you?

What is the Eurozone?

This is the name given to 17 European countries which use the Euro, including France, Germany, Spain and Ireland.

What is the problem?

Several countries in the Eurozone have borrowed and spent too much since the global recession, losing control of their finances.
Greece was the first to take a multi-billion pound bailout from other European countries last May, followed by Portugal and Ireland.
Their governments had to agree to spending cuts before the loans were approved. Greece is still in trouble though and needs more money.

What's going on in Greece?

There have been protests in Athens, some of them violent Many Greek people don't want any more tax rises and job losses, but tough spending plans have been pushed through so the government can receive that second bailout.
There have been protests on the streets and strikes at power stations.
This has led to some people being left without any electricity.

What is the fear?

If Greece is unable or unwilling to keep paying what it owes to the rest of Europe, the country will effectively go bankrupt.
This would make life even tougher for Greek people, who would feel much poorer as their money wouldn't be worth as much.
Governments in other Eurozone countries like Ireland and Portugal would have to pay more to borrow money and might have to raise taxes and cut spending to balance the books.

Where does the UK come into this?

As the UK is not in the Euro, it hasn't contributed to the bailout except through its membership of the International Monetary Fund, which lends to countries around the world.
But some British banks have lent money to Greece and would lose billions if the country went bankrupt.
They would lose even more if the problems spread to other countries like Spain and Italy.
If the banks are hit hard there could be another credit crunch, making it much harder for British people and businesses to borrow cash for loans and mortgages.
Companies in the UK also do many of their trade deals with firms in Europe, so financial problems overseas would affect British business too.

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