The articles in this theme provide an overview of the Eurozone crisis, consider its consequences for U.S. agricultural exports, and analyze how agriculture in the EU and in Transition Economies in Europe and Central Asia have been affected by the Eurozone's economic difficulties.

We provide a broad context of the Eurozone crisis by examining the mutual dependence between the United States and the European Union, European economic integration efforts and the role of the common currency therein, the origin of and responses to the economic difficulties, and links to agriculture.

The Eurozone problem is the result of using a common currency for a set of countries without a common monetary and fiscal system. While this could have major implications for the United States economy, our analysis suggests that even under the most adverse situations considered, total U.S. agricultural exports are likely to increase over time.

Some but not the majority of EU farmers faced difficulties in credit access after the outbreak of the financial crisis. Low debt levels and declining interest rates insulated most farms in the crisis regions from excessive risk exposure. Dairy farmers in particular were protected by a public rescue package.

The Eurozone crisis has affected many countries in the neighboring regions, especially those with closer economic ties. These impacts are transmitted through reduced trade, investment flows, credit and remittances. Agriculture is relatively large in many of these economies and can suffer from lower exports, foreign investment, credit and domestic demand.