The book addresses the fragility of financial markets, the varying competitiveness of Eurozone countries, reform and austerity programs, the shift from a tax state to a debt state, and government bank bailouts. The policies for managing the debt crisis are illustrated particularly through the examples of the Euro Plus Pact, the Stability and Growth Pact, and the European Semester. Special analytical relevance is given to the monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) based on the purchases of government bonds and the Federal Constitutional Court regarding European policy rulings on the Lisbon Treaty, the Greek bailouts, the participation rights of the Bundestag, and the positions on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the ECB.