Hit by the European financial and economic crisis in 2008, several Member States of the European Monetary Union (EMU) were unable to refinance their public debt through the financial markets. As a result, they asked for financial assistance from international institutions and European financial assistance mechanisms. That assistance often came at a high price for citizens, cuts in pensions and social assistance, and controversial reforms in public healthcare. These far-reaching reforms were, in many cases, experienced as violations of people's human rights. National constitutional courts, the Court of Justice of the EU, and the European Court of Human Rights issued a series of rulings on the conformity of the reforms in social protection initiated during the Eurozone crisis.