Who’s next in line in the eurozone crisis? Portugal and Slovenia are the prime candidates

Open Europe Team, (2013), “Who’s next in line in the eurozone crisis? Portugal and Slovenia are the prime candidates”, Open Europe, 11 April.

The troubles in Cyprus have set off a new examination of the health of the eurozone, with a particular focus on which country might be next in line for a bailout and the extent to which shareholders and depositors will take losses when banks fail (bail-ins). Much of the attention has settled on two countries. Portugal, which has been propelled back into the headlines, with the country’s constitutional court recently ruling against some of the government’s EU-mandated budget cuts. Secondly, Slovenia, which is facing a massive banking crisis, in turn providing another potential testing ground for the eurozone’s vaguely defined ‘bail-in’ plans. Below we provide a quick rundown of the key points to watch in each country.