More than 12 years after its debut on the international financial market, the euro seems to be facing its greatest challenge ever. The Eurozone sovereign debt crisis is raising concerns about the future of euro.

The eurozone consists of 17 states of the 27-member European Union. They are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Bosnia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

The euro is the official currency of all these countries. The Euro is the second largest reserve currency as well as the second most-traded currency in the world after the US dollar. But since the eruption of the sovereign debt crisis in Greece in December, 2009, the crisis has spread to Ireland and Portugal. The state bonds of the three states have been downgraded to junk status.

The European Financial Stability Facility has been created to help bail out these economies in crisis. Some analysts say the fundamental cause of the current crisis is the lack of a unified fiscal policy framework in the eurozone, despite the adoption of its single currency. Some economists also say Germany and France are likely to seek stronger leadership within the eurozone and push for the creation of stricter fiscal and monetary polices.