Brussels, 22/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 22 July, the European Commission proposed amendments to the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) to protect the non-eurozone countries from any losses the EFSM may incur on loans made to eurozone countries.
The legislative changes to the regulation instituting the EFSM, a mechanism managed by the Commission on behalf of the member states, aim to reflect the joint declaration of the Council and the Commission of 17 July on the future of this instrument, following its emergency deployment for Greece (see EUROPE 11362).
Under this change, if the beneficiary is a eurozone state, the award of financial assistance from the EU would be subject to legally binding provisions guaranteeing that the states which are not members of the single currency would be fully indemnified against any liability they could incur if a state fails to reimburse the financial support.
As the joint declaration of 17 July states that the EFSM can no longer be used until the proposed changes enter into force, the Commission has invited the Council to adopt the suggested amendment as soon as possible. (Elodie Lamer)