European Stability Mechanism ESM

Europe agrees on financing for future bailout fund

Europe's post-2013 bailout fund to have paid in, callable capital; lower costs for poor states

Gabriele Steinhauser, AP Business Writer, On Monday March 21, 2011, 3:30 pm EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The eurozone's 17 finance ministers agreed Monday on how to finance the region's future bailout fund, slightly lowering the contributions that poorer states have to pay into it.
Nations that use the common euro currency will give the new European Stability Mechanism a capital base of euro80 billion ($114 billion) and provide euro620 billion ($880 billion) in callable capital and guarantees, said Olli Rehn, the European Union monetary affairs commissioner.
The ESM will start in mid-2013, succeeding the eurozone's existing bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
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Comment:  The long-established procedure is still in place. Any new obstacle along the way of unification becomes a stepping stone for the next phase of an even deeper integration.