ON MAY 10th European finance ministers meeting in Brussels produced a three-year €750 billion rescue package for the euro zone, designed to convince financial markets that the weaker members of the single currency would not be abandoned. The scale of the response reflected growing fears among European leaders that financing for the most troubled euro-zone countries might suddenly stop. Although the package has bought the troubled currency area time, it does not resolve the underlying structural difficulties facing many of its members, particularly the five so-called PIIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. These countries face many of the same economic challenges as well as the ability to cause headaches in Brussels (and Berlin). The interactive graphic below tells the story; click on the map for country-specific information and charts.

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