"Ten years after its creation, the ESM is poised to play a stronger role in crisis prevention and remains ready to assist in current and future crises as part of an overarching euro area commitment to stand united."
Klaus Regling, Managing Director
Message from the Managing Director
Message from the Managing Director
Since the inception of the ESM and EFSF crisis mechanisms, the euro area has undergone a series of crises. As we have seen over the past decade, crises can be very different in nature and thus require different solutions.
Through it all, the ESM has carried out its mission by providing billions in financial assistance to five member states during the euro debt crisis, by creating its Pandemic Crisis Support tool to fund healthcare measures related to Covid-19, and by now being prepared to take on new tasks to continue to support euro area financial stability.
Though painful, crises also offer opportunities for change. Past experiences have led to firewalls, policies, instruments, and reforms that have all served to make the euro area more resilient and demonstrate our commitment to its stability.
The war in Ukraine now wreaks devastation and also reintroduces a high degree of uncertainty – not only about how our economies will be affected, but also about a new world order with potentially long-lasting political and economic consequences. Against this backdrop, the EU and euro area will need to ramp up cooperation and increase their resilience.
Upon ratification of the amended ESM Treaty, the ESM will play a stronger role in preparing and monitoring potential future programmes and will enhance its precautionary credit lines by making their eligibility process more transparent and predictable. Most importantly, the ESM is operationally ready to provide the backstop for the Single Resolution Fund, effectively doubling the fund’s resources should they become depleted.
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