GREECE CRISIS1. Whats the latest?Greeceand its European creditors announced an agreement in Brussels on Monday that aims to resolve the countrysdebt crisisand keep it in the eurozone, but that will require further budgetary belt-tightening that Prime MinisterAlexis Tsiprascould have trouble selling back in Athens.TheInternational Monetary Fundthreatened to withdraw support for Greeces bailout on Tuesday unless European leaders agree to substantial debt relief.The Greek Parliament has scheduled a vote for Wednesday night on whether to approve central elements of the deal.2. What happens next?One open question is whether the deal gives enough confidence to theEuropean Central Bankto let it continue channeling sorely needed emergency funding to Greek banks.As part of Greeces commitments, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany said, a fund will be created to use the proceeds from selling off assets owned by the Greek government to help pay down the countrys debt. That fund would be to the tune of 50 billion, she said.Greece will also be required to seek assistance from theInternational Monetary Fundand to agree to let the organization continue to monitor the countrys adherence to its bailout commitments.The Greek Parliament will also be required to approve the terms of the agreement without delay, according to thedocumentreleased on Monday morning. The agreement will call for Greece to raise taxes in some cases and pare pension benefits.Despite the agreement, Greek banks are expected to remain closed this week. To reopen, the banks would need more emergency loans from the European Central Bank.3. How does the crisis affect the global financial system?In the European Union, most real decision-making power, particularly on matters involving politically delicate things like money and migrants, rests with 28 national governments, each one beholden to its voters and taxpayers. This tension has grown only more acute since the January 1999 introduction of the euro, which now binds 19 nations into a single currency zone watched over by the European Central Bank but leaves budget and tax policy in the hands of each country, an arrangement that some economists believe was doomed from the start.Since Greeces debt crisis began in 2010, most international banks and foreign investors have sold their Greek bonds and other holdings, so they are no longer vulnerable to what happens in Greece. (Some private investors who subsequently plowed back into Greek bonds, betting on a comeback, regret that decision.)And in the meantime, the other crisis countries in the eurozone, like Portugal, Ireland and Spain, have taken steps to overhaul their economies andare much less vulnerable to market contagionthan they were a few years ago.Debt in the European UnionGross government debt as a percentage of gross domestic product plotted through the fourth quarter of 2014.

Source: Eurostat4. What if Greece left the eurozone?At the height of the debt crisis a few years ago, many experts worried that Greeces problems would spill over to the rest of the world. If Greece defaulted on its debt and exited the eurozone, they argued, it might create global financial shocks bigger than the collapse of Lehman Brothers did.Now, however, some people believe that if Greece were to leave the currency union, in what is known as a Grexit, it wouldnt be such a catastrophe. Europe has put up safeguards to limit the so-called financial contagion, in an effort to keep the problems from spreading to other countries. Greece, just a tiny part of the eurozone economy, could regain financial autonomy by leaving, these people contend and the eurozone would actually be better off without a country that seems to constantly need its neighbors support.Greeces G.D.P. and Unemployment Rates in EuropeFirst quarter 2015 average; *Britain is the three-month average through February.

Source: EurostatOthers say thats too simplistic a view. Despite the frustration of endless negotiations, European political leaders see a united Europe as an imperative. At the same time, they still havent fixed some of the biggest shortcomings of the eurozones structure by creating a more federal-style system of transferring money as needed among members the way the United States does among its various states.Exiting the euro currency union and the European Union would also involve a legal minefield that no country has yet ventured to cross. There are also no provisions for departure, voluntary or forced, from the euro currency union.5. PLAY VIDEO3:52A 2013 video on how Greeks were turning to dirty and environmentally damaging solutions for heat after the government raised taxes on heating oil by 450 percent.CreditVideo by Nikolia Apostolou onPublish DateFebruary 03, 2013How did Greece get to this point?Greece became the epicenter of Europes debt crisis after Wall Street imploded in 2008. With global financial markets still reeling, Greece announced in October 2009 that it had been understating its deficit figures for years, raising alarms about the soundness of Greek finances.Suddenly, Greece was shut out from borrowing in the financial markets. By the spring of 2010, it was veering toward bankruptcy, which threatened to set off a new financial crisis.To avert calamity, the so-called troika the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission issued the first of two international bailouts for Greece, which would eventually total more than 240 billion euros, or about $264 billion at todays exchange rates.The bailouts came with conditions. Lenders imposed harsh austerity terms, requiring deep budget cuts and steep tax increases. They also required Greece to overhaul its economy by streamlining the government, ending tax evasion and making Greece an easier place to do business.6. Photo

A father and daughter at a demonstration in Athens in late June.CreditEirini Vourloumis for The New York TimesIf Greece has received billions in bailouts, why is there still a crisis?The money was supposed to buy Greece time to stabilize its finances and quell market fears that the euro union itself could break up. While it has helped, Greeces economic problems havent gone away. The economy has shrunk by a quarter in five years, and unemployment is above 25 percent.The bailout money mainly goes toward paying off Greeces international loans, rather than making its way into the economy. And the government still has a staggering debt load that it cannot begin to pay down unless a recovery takes hold.Many economists, and many Greeks, blame the austerity measures for much of the countrys continuing problems. The leftist Syriza party rode to power this year promising to renegotiate the bailout; Mr. Tsipras said that austerity had created a humanitarian crisis in Greece.But the countrys exasperated creditors, especially Germany, blame Athens for failing to conduct the economic overhauls required under its bailout agreement. They dont want to change the rules for Greece.Greeces Creditors