What was the beginning year of the European debt crisis that particularly affected Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain?
PIGS (economics) PIGS or PIIGS or PIIGGS is an acronym used in economics and finance. The PIGS acronym originally refers, often derogatorily, to the economies of the Southern European countries of Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain. During the European debt crisis, the term was also increasingly used to refer to the economies of Portugal, Ireland, Greece, and Spain, four EU member states that were unable to refinance their government debt or to bail out over-indebted banks on their own during the crisis.
1986 enlargement of the European Communities The 1986 enlargement of the European Communities was the third enlargement of what is now the European Union, then the European Communities (EC). Spain and Portugal acceded to the EC on 1 January 1986. It is considered a part of the Mediterranean enlargement.