What global crisis contributed to the dismal performance of the European Union?

The "dismal" performance of the EU has happened in large
part because of the global financial crisis or the "Great Recession" that has slowed
world economies since 2007.  This economic crisis has led to problems that are
collectively known as the EU's "debt crisis."

This crisis
started to be visible when Greece came to be in danger of defaulting on its loans.  This
led investors to wonder about the safety of loans to many other EU countries such as
Spain, Portugal and Ireland.  As this has happened, people have started to worry about
the stability of the Euro.  This has meant that Eurozone countries with stronger
economies have been called on to bail out the Greeks and other nations.  There has been
considerable political opposition to this in rich countries like
Germany.

In this way, the global financial crisis has led
to a dismal economic and political performance on the part of the EU and some of its
member countries.  They have been unable to agree on ways to reduce their debt or ways
to help other EU countries that are in economic trouble.