The Spanish autonomous region of Catalonia announced July 24 that it would follow Valencia and Murcia in requesting a bailout from the central government. This is the most recent example of how the European financial crisis is creating problems within countries as well as between them. At the national level, two issues mirror the problems Europe is encountering at supra- and international levels: First, high debt levels in some regions are undermining central governments' abilities to implement austerity measures; and second, the crisis has increased tensions between the more developed and the poorest regions within countries. As a result, central governments are extremely limited in their range of options as they try to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis. The problem of regional and municipal debt undermines governments' efforts to reduce spending, while the lack of solidarity between regions threatens the countries' political stability.