Greece adopted the euro in 2001 but many observers now feel that was a big mistake.
Entry into the eurozone meant countries had to adhere to the Maastricht criteria, which included a deficit below three per cent and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 per cent.
Greece has admitted its books were cooked to ensure it gained entry into the eurozone but enforcement of the criteria at the time was lax. Even big countries like Germany, Italy and France had defaulted.
But the spectre of uncontrolled public expenditure and an ever increasing debt mountain in Greece, made worse by spending on the 2004 Athens Olympics, returned with a vengeance after the 2008 global financial crisis.
As banks failed and eurozone countries stepped in to bail them out, the crisis shifted to individual countries that were already burdened with high debts.
In December 2009 credit rating agencies downgraded Greece on fears that it could default, kick starting a series of events that led the Hellenic Republic to turn to its eurozone partners for help.
But the bailout money was conditional on Greece implementing austerity measures that cut deep and wide. While Greek society became impoverished, Greece’s European partners, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, deemed the measures unsatisfactory.
• May 2010: Greece receives a €110 billion rescue package from eurozone members on condition that austerity measures are implemented to cut public spending.
• October 2011: Banks agree to take a 50 per cent loss on the face value of their Greek debt.
• March 2012: Greece receives €130 billion in a second bailout package. Unlike the first, where bailout money was disbursed through bilateral loans with eurozone member states, the second bailout was done through a specifically created fund with eurozone countries putting forward cash guarantees.
• May 2012: Greeks elect the centre-right New Democracy party headed by Antonio Samaras as the next government. The mainstream party quells market jitters and Greece embarks on a two year drive to implement austerity measures.
• January 2015: Greek voters choose Syriza, an anti-austerity party headed by Alexis Tsipras, on the back of sliding incomes and increasing poverty. Syriza pledges to re-employ government workers, increase the minimum wage and reject further cuts to pensions.
• February 2015: Eurozone leaders give Greece an extension on bailout funds but expect the Greek government to come forward with fresh proposals to reform public finances and the economy.
• May 2015: Greece quells fears of an imminent default, authorising a big loan payment to the International Monetary Fund.
• June 2015: Greece rolls over a series of debt repayments to the IMF to the end of the month. By June 30 Greece has to pay back €1.6 billion and risks defaulting on the loan if eurozone leaders do not unlock €7.3 billion in fresh bailout funds.