Proposal for a Council Implementing Decision amending Implementing Decision 2011/77/EU on granting Union financial assistance to Ireland

In order to strengthen the sustainability profile of the economic programme to Ireland and ease the liquidity needs of the Irish government in the post-programme years, and in line with the Statement by the Eurogroup and Ecofin Ministers of 12 April 2013, Council Implementing Decision 2011/77/EU on granting financial assistance to Ireland should be amended. The amendments concern in particular the extension of the average maturity of the overall facility from “up to 12.5 years” to “up to 19.5 years” by extending the maturities of the individual disbursements.

At the request of Ireland and market conditions permitting, the Commission may refinance all or part of its initial borrowing in order to extend the maturity of an instalment or a tranche, provided that the maximum average maturity of 19.5 years is respected. Any amounts borrowed by the Commssion in advance shall be kept on an account with the ECB that the Commission has opened for the administration of the financial assistance. The Commission will also make sure that the maturity at which the refinancing operations are made caters for the proper management of the margin under the EU Own Resouces ceiling, including the redemption profile of the EU bonds. The refinancing operations are expected to take place from 2015 and all costs incurred by the EU in concluding and carrying out each operation will be borne by Ireland.

It should be noted that such decision will enhance the sustainability and improve the liquidity outlook of the programme. This results in improved borrowing conditions for the sovereign as well as spill-over effects to the private sector. These effects are beneficial for both creditor and debtor countries and therefore contributes to the stability of the euro area.

Taking into account the above explanations, the Commission considers that the changes consisting in the extension of the average maturity of the EFSM loan to Ireland are beneficial to securing the programme's objectives.

• Primary Source

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)320: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:320:FIN

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