2019 ESM Annual Report
ESM reform and treaty change
The year 2019 was one of tremendous work and achievement on ESM reform. Intense discussions took place at all levels on the design and finalisation of enhancements to the euro area's permanent crisis resolution mechanism, seven years after its creation.
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Message from the Managing Director
“After a successful first 10 years, the rescue fund is adapting its lending tools to respond effectively to the corona pandemic.” – Klaus Regling, Managing Director
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2019 year in review
The ESM achieved a number of milestones in 2019, including implementing agreed medium-term debt relief measures for Greece, launching an interactive database on all EFSF and ESM financial assistance programmes, and issuing its first bond under Luxembourg law. Read more…
Programme country experiences
The EFSF and ESM disbursed a combined nearly €300 billion over eight years to five countries, an important contribution to their and the euro area's recovery from the financial crisis. The ESM continues to observe these countries to ensure they can pay back these loans.
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ESG at the ESM
With its funding and investment activities steeped in capital markets, the ESM understands that embedding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in its market dealings and internal operations will ultimately encourage better, more sustainable outcomes for the societies it serves. Read more…

Visualising our programmes
Launched in October 2019, the ESM now offers a state-of-the-art and interactive tool enabling users to explore a wealth of information on all EFSF and ESM financial assistance programmes. The ESM programme database makes delving into this normally difficult-to-retrieve information on lending and programme monitoring easily accessible to all. Read more…

Efficiency through digitisation
Digital innovation makes the ESM more robust and efficient. In 2019, the ESM devoted considerable thought and resources to boosting efficiency, both externally and internally, through digital innovation. Read more…

10 years of rescue funds
The year 2020 marks 10 years of the euro area rescue funds, with the establishment, first, of the temporary EFSF on 7 June 2010, followed by the permanent ESM on
8 October 2012. Their construction filled an important gap in the euro area financial architecture. Read more…


Macro and financial environment
The euro area economy slowed in 2019 to its lowest rate since 2014, but nevertheless remained resilient. Economic activity, however, deteriorated sharply in the first months of 2020, undermined by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more…