Policy field
Competition: State aid
Target group
Member States, credit insurers and other interested parties
Consultation period
From 23.09.2019 to 18.10.2019
Objective of the consultation
In the Communication from the Commission to the Member States on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to short-term export-credit insurance (Official Journal C 392, 19.12.2012, p. 1), the Commission concludes that short-term export-credit risks inside the EU and a small number of other countries are in principle "marketable" and that Member States should leave the insurance of those risks to private parties (or to public entities acting as market economy operators). In 2012, following a consultation amongst the stakeholders involved in export credit, it was concluded that credit risks for exports to Greece were, in fact, temporarily non-marketable given the economic situation. The Commission has since 2012 periodically assessed this market and based on market feedback, continued to observe a lack of private insurance and re-insurance capacity. On this basis, the Commission amended the Communication by temporarily removing Greece from the list of marketable risk countries from 2013 to the end of 2019. The most recent modification is due to expire on 31 December 2019. The consequence of the decision was that Member States could publicly support export credits as regards exports to Greece provided that they respected the conditions set out in the Communication.
The Commission needs to determine whether the current market situation justifies the expiry of Greece's removal from the list of marketable risk countries as of 1 January 2020, or whether a prolongation is needed. It should be underlined that this assessment is not linked to Greece's general economic performance and is distinct to and independent from the financial assistance programme which Greece successfully concluded on 20 August 2018. This is an assessment of what credit insurers consider to be insurable transactions with private Greek importers.
In order to establish the availability of sufficient private capacity the Commission invites Member States, credit insurers and other interested parties to submit the following information:
- (a) Private credit insurance capacity: availability of credit insurance from private insurers in all Member States during the period January 2019 – September 2019 (changes in the private capacity, withdrawals from or entries of private credit insurers to that market), data on the exposure to Greece per private insurer, per Member State for the same period (number of requests, acceptance ratio, total insured turnover, and average premium charged).
- (b) Activity of insurers acting on behalf of, or with State guarantee or the State itself in provision of short-term credit insurance for exports to Greece during the period January 2019 – September 2019: availability of credit insurance in all Member States, number of requests, acceptance ratio, total insured turnover, and average premium charged in the Member States concerned.
- (c) Corporate sector performance in Greece (e.g. corporate insolvency ratio during the period January 2019 – September 2019, forecasts for the remainder of 2019).
- (d) Other relevant data and information.
How to submit your contribution
Please submit your contribution in an electronic format.
e-mail: stateaidgreffe
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (subject: HT-4524) (stateaidgreffe[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Please always indicate the reference number in your correspondence: HT.4524
Due to the confidential nature of the information sought received contributions will not be published.
It is important to read the privacy statement attached to this consultation for information on how your personal data and contribution will be dealt with.
Contact details
Directorate-General for Competition – Unit D4 State Aid – Financial institutions II.
For any questions please contact Ms. Maja ZELJKO (00 32 229 53227; e-mail: Maja [dot] ZELJKOec [dot] europa [dot] eu (subject: HT-4524) (Maja[dot]ZELJKO[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)), Ms. Nora STRAEHLE (00 32 229 81893, Nora [dot] STRAEHLEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (subject: HT-4524) (Nora[dot]STRAEHLE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)) or Mr. Hannes ACKERT (00 32 229 83396; e-mail: Hannes [dot] ACKERTec [dot] europa [dot] eu (subject: HT-4524) (Hannes[dot]ACKERT[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)).