European Stability Mechanism

European Stability Mechanism
Formation27 September 2012 (2012-09-27)
TypeIGO
Legal statusTreaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism
HeadquartersLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
49°38′07″N 6°10′06″E / 49.63529°N 6.1684°E / 49.63529; 6.1684
Membership
20 (all Member States of the eurozone)
Pierre Gramegna[1]
President of the Board of Governors
Paschal Donohoe
Organs
Board of Governors
Board of Directors
Staff221 by 31 December 2021[2]
Websiteesm.europa.eu

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was established on 27 September 2012 as a permanent firewall for the eurozone, to safeguard and provide instant access to financial assistance programmes for member states of the eurozone in financial difficulty, with a maximum lending capacity of €500 billion. It has replaced two earlier temporary EU funding programmes: the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM).

  1. ^ "Who we are". 18 March 2016.
  2. ^ "ESM Annual Report 2021" (PDF).