Opinion of the European Central Bank of 9 February 2009 at the request of the Cypriot Ministry of Finance on a draft law amending the Laws of 2002 and 2004 on the management of revenues and expenditure and on the accounting system of the Republic and other related matters (CON/2009/12)
Date: 2009-02-09
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Cyprus, company in difficulties, financial institution, financial solvency, financial stability, national law

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 9 February 2009 

at the request of the Cypriot Ministry of Finance on a draft law amending the Laws of 2002 and 

2004 on the management of revenues and expenditure and on the accounting system of the 

Republic and other related matters 

(CON/2009/12) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 16 January 2009, the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the Cypriot Ministry 

of Finance for an opinion on a draft law amending the Laws of 2002 and 2004 on the management of 
revenues  and  expenditure  and  on  the  accounting  system  of  the  Republic  and  other  related  matters1 

(hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on Article 105(4) of the Treaty establishing the 

European  Community  and  on  the  sixth  indent  of  Article  2(1)  of  Council  Decision  98/415/EC  of 

29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities regarding draft 
legislative  provisions2,  as  the  draft  law  relates  to  rules  applicable  to  financial  institutions  insofar  as 

they materially influence the stability of financial institutions and markets. In accordance with the first 

sentence  of  Article  17.5  of  the  Rules  of  Procedure  of  the  European  Central  Bank,  the  Governing 

Council has adopted this opinion. 

1. 

Purpose and main features of the draft law  

1.1   The draft law is motivated by the ongoing turbulence in the global financial markets and by the 

Cypriot authorities’ wish to place themselves in a position where they can take any necessary 

measures  to  support  financial  institutions  without  delay,  helping  preserve  confidence  in  the 

financial  system.  According  to  the  explanatory  memorandum  accompanying  the  draft  law,  its 

purpose  is  to  establish  a  framework  to  enable  the  Cypriot  Ministerial  Council,  following  a 

proposal of the Minister for Finance and taking into account the opinion of the Governor of the 

Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), to take, ‘in a period of financial crisis’, now or in the future, 

measures  intended  to  address  liquidity  or  insolvency  problems  affecting  financial  institutions 

based in Cyprus and to enhance their capital base or balance sheets ‘under conditions that [the 

1  
2  

Law 112(I)/2002, Official Gazette of the Republic No 3621, 12.7.2002, as amended (hereinafter the ‘basic law’). 
OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42.  

 
 
 
 
                                                      
Ministerial  Council]  itself  shall  determine’,  without  the  need  for  any  ratification  of  these 

measures by the House of Representatives. 

1.2  Under  Section  2  of  the  draft  law,  which  inserts  a  new  Section  30A  into  the  basic  law,  the 

Ministerial  Council  could  take  any  of  the  following  support  measures  in  relation  to  troubled 

financial  institutions:  (i)  a  Government  loan  to  a  financial  institution;  (ii)  a  Government 

guarantee to a financial institution; (iii) the recapitalisation of a financial institution in return for 

a  corresponding  participation  in  its  ownership  structure;  (iv)  the  purchase  of  a  financial 

institution’s assets; (v) a Government loan or guarantee for an appropriate price and/or a grant 

paid  to  deposit-guarantee  or  investor  protection  schemes.  As  the  draft  law  provides  no  more 

than  the  broad  outline  of  what  is  to  be  a  general  Government  support  framework  for  the 

domestic financial system, the ECB understands that the actual terms and conditions subject to 

which support measures are to be taken by the Ministerial Council will only be determined on 

an  ad  hoc  basis  and  that  the  new  Section  30A  will  be  activated  without  the  adoption  of  any 
formal implementing measures involving Parliamentary assent3. The draft law, which does not 

provide for an expiry date for the powers conferred on the Ministerial Council stipulates that, 

‘prior to the implementation of a scheme to support the financial sector, the  provisions of the 
Laws on State aid control shall be complied with’4. 

2. 

General observations  

2.1  The  ECB  has  issued  a  number  of  opinions  at  the  request  of  the  competent  Member  States’ 
authorities  on  national  measures  adopted  in  response  to  the  global  financial  crisis5.  Given  the 

broad scope of the support measures envisaged in the draft law and the fact that it may not have 

an opportunity to comment on any formal implementing measures in the future, the ECB invites 

the  consulting  authority  to  take  into  account  the  relevant  observations  made  in  its  recent 

opinions  on  similar  draft  legislative  provisions  in  other  Member  States,  some  of  which  are 

expressly repeated below. 

2.2  The ECB also draws attention to the guidance provided by the Ecofin Council to the Member 
States in the conclusions of its Meeting of 7 October 20086 as well as the Declaration issued by 

3  

4  

5  
6  

The draft law nevertheless provides for the submission by the competent Minister of ad hoc and periodic reports to 
the  House  of  Representatives,  informing  the  House  of  any  measures  adopted  in  support  of  the  domestic  financial 
sector (see Section 2 of the draft law). 
Law 30(I)/2001, Official Gazette of the Republic No 3481, 16.3.2001, as amended. The Laws on State aid control 
transposed  into  the  Cypriot  legal  order  the  acquis  in  the  area  of  State  aid  law,  entrusting  the  Office  of  the 
Commissioner for State aid control with the task of monitoring its correct implementation in Cyprus. 
All ECB opinions are available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 
See ‘Immediate Responses to Financial Turmoil’, Ecofin Council Conclusions of 7 October 2008, available on the 
former  French  Presidency’s  website  at  www.ue2008.fr.  The  Ecofin  Council  recommended  that:  (i)  interventions 
should be timely and the support should in principle be temporary; (ii) the interests of taxpayers should be protected; 
(iii) existing shareholders should bear the due consequences of the intervention; (iv) the Government should be in a 
position to bring about a change of management; (v) management should not retain undue benefits; (vi) governments 

2 

 
 
 
                                                      
the  Heads  of  State  of  the  euro  area  on  12  October  2008  (hereinafter  the  ‘Declaration’)7.  In 

particular,  the  ECB  stresses  that  any  initiatives  put  in  place  by  the  competent  national 

authorities to restore confidence in the financial markets should be coordinated and should aim 

to  implement  the  common  principles  in  question,  in  a  spirit  of  close  cooperation  with  other 

Member States and the Community institutions. The principles contained in the Declaration as 

well as the conclusions raised by the Ecofin Council were endorsed by the European Council of 
15 to 16 October 20088. 

2.3  The ECB also stresses that it is of the utmost importance that support operations conducted by 

the  national  authorities  do  not  interfere  with  the  conduct  of  euro  area  monetary  policy  and/or 
with  the  Eurosystem’s  refinancing  operations9.  Given  the  interdependencies  of  the  Member 

States’ policy responses to the financial crisis, the ECB’s opinions have also drawn attention to 

the  importance  of  a  concerted  approach  throughout  the  EU,  aimed  at  restoring  confidence  in 

financial markets.  

2.4  With these general observations in mind, and against the background of the guidance previously 

given  by  the  ECB  and  the  Community  institutions  in  this  regard,  the  ECB  has  the  following 

observations to make on the draft law. 

3.  

Specific observations  

3.1 

Scope, detailed rules and conditions for the activation of the national support measures  

3.1.1  The  ECB  notes  that  Section  2  of  the  draft  law  does  not  define  any  conditions,  rules  or 

limitations subject to which Government support measures are to be provided. Instead, these are 

to  be  determined  on  an  ad  hoc  basis  if  and  when  recourse  is  to  be  had  to  the  Ministerial 

Council’s powers.  

3.1.2  In the light of the above, the ECB strongly recommends that the consulting authority clarifies 

the  coverage  of  the  proposed  Government  support  measures.  It  also  draws  attention  to  the 

importance of putting a transparent, predictable framework in place. This can only be done by 

defining  expressly  in  the  draft  law  both  the  terms  and  conditions  for  domestic  financial 

7  

8   
9   

may  have,  inter  alia,  the  power  to  intervene  in  remuneration;  (vii)  legitimate  interests  of  competitors  must  be 
protected, in particular through the State aid rules; and (viii) negative spill-over effects should be avoided.  
The text of the Declaration is available on the former French Presidency’s website at www.ue2008.fr. The Member 
States  agreed  to:  (i)  ensure  appropriate  liquidity  conditions  for  financial  institutions:  (ii)  facilitate  the  funding  of 
banks; (iii) provide financial institutions with additional capital resources to continue to ensure the proper financing 
of the economy; (iv) allow for an efficient recapitalisation of distressed banks, (v) ensure sufficient flexibility in the 
implementation of accounting rules; and (vi) enhance cooperation procedures among European countries. 
See Brussels European Council of 15 to 16 October, paragraph 3 of the Presidency Conclusions. 
See, for instance, paragraph 3.2 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/52 of 17 October 2008 at the request of the Spanish State 
Secretary for Economic Affairs on a Royal Decree-Law creating a Fund for the acquisition of financial assets and on 
a Royal Decree-Law adopting urgent financial and economic measures in relation to the concerted European action 
plan of the euro area countries and paragraph 3.7 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/81 of 1 December 2008 at the request 
of the Hungarian Ministry of Finance on a draft law on strengthening the financial intermediary system.  

3 

 
 
  
                                                                                                                                                                      
institutions to have recourse to such framework in cases of emergency only, and the parameters 

of  and  limitations  to  the  exercise  by  the  Ministerial  Council  of  its  powers  when  deciding 
whether or not and subject to which conditions to activate the new Section 30A10. As regards the 

definition  of  ‘financial  crisis’,  the  ECB  understands  that  financial  difficulties  faced  by 

individual  institutions  qualify  as  a  financial  crisis  under  the  draft  law  only  when  potential 

systemic disorders can be foreseen and would welcome a clarification in this respect. 

3.2   Selection of beneficiary institutions 

3.2.1  The ECB draws the consulting authority’s attention to the Declaration which states, inter alia, 

that  Member  States’  actions  should  ‘be  designed  in  order  to  avoid  any  distortion  in  the  level 

playing  field’  and  that  ‘all  the  financial  institutions  incorporated  and  operating  in  [euro  area] 

countries and subsidiaries of foreign institutions with substantial operations [should] be eligible’ 

to benefit from the actions in question. The ECB has previously stated that ‘arrangements that 
may be seen as providing preferential treatment to specified institutions should be avoided’11. 

3.2.2  Pursuant to Article 2 of the draft law, its provisions are to apply to the ‘financial institutions’ 

listed in it, provided that these are licensed by the competent national authorities in Cyprus. The 

ECB understands that, with the exception of branches of banks and other financial institutions 

registered  outside  Cyprus,  which  are  ineligible  to  benefit,  the  draft  law  applies  to  all  Cypriot 

financial  institutions,  including  the  Cyprus-based  subsidiaries  of  foreign  financial  institutions. 

The ECB welcomes the non-discriminatory application of the draft law, which is conducive to 

maintaining a level playing field in the treatment of domestic and foreign financial institutions 

in Cyprus. Moreover, the ECB notes that the draft law is, in that respect, also in line with the 
Commission’s guidance on the eligibility criteria for beneficiary institutions12. 

3.3  The proposed support measures and the single monetary policy of the euro area 

3.3.1  In  line  with the  Declaration,  Member  States  have  to  act  in  a  coordinated  manner  to  avoid  the 

risk  of  significant  national  differences,  apt  to  create  distortions  in  the  European  financial 

markets. The euro area Heads of State also acknowledged the need to work in cooperation with 

the  ECB  to  ensure  consistency  with  the  management  of  liquidity  by  the  Eurosystem  and 

compatibility with the Eurosystem’s operational framework. In this respect, the ECB notes that 

uncoordinated  decisions  by  Member  States  should  be  avoided  as  they  may  lead  to  a 

10  

11  

12  

In this regard see, for instance, paragraph 3.3 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/61 of 28 October 2008 at the request of the 
Belgian  Minister  for  Finance  on  a  draft  royal  decree  implementing  the  Law  of  15  October  2008  on  measures 
promoting financial stability and in particular establishing a State guarantee for the provision of credit in the context 
of  financial  stability,  in  relation  to  the  protection  of  deposits  and  life  insurance  and  amending  the  Law  of 
2 August 2002 on the supervision of the financial sector and on financial services, and paragraph 3.3 of ECB Opinion 
CON/2009/2 of 7 January 2009 at the request of the Latvian Ministry of Finance on a draft regulation establishing 
procedures for issue and supervision of bank loan guarantees. 
See paragraph 3.4 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/48 of 15 October 2008 at the request of the Irish Minister for Finance 
on a draft Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Scheme 2008. 
See Communication from the Commission, - The Application of State Aid Rules to Measures Taken in Relation to 
Financial Institutions in the context of the current global financial crisis,  paragraph 18. 

4 

 
 
                                                      
fragmentation  of  the  euro  area  money  market.  Against  this  background,  the  ECB  has  the 

following specific remarks to make on the possible use, in the future, of the powers granted by 

the draft law. 

3.3.2  First, it follows from the new Section 30A that State guarantees may be issued to cover all types 

of  liabilities  of  domestic  financial  institutions  and  national  guarantee  schemes.  The  ECB 

therefore understands that the draft law does not exclude from its material scope of application, 

expressly or by implication, interbank deposits, subordinated or collateralised liabilities (such as 

covered  bonds).  The  ECB  repeats  its  view  that  State  guarantees  should  not  cover  interbank 

deposits,  in  particular,  as  this  could:  (i)  entail  a  substantial  distortion  in  the  various  national 

segments  of  the  euro  area  money  market  by  potentially  increasing  short-term  debt  issuance 

activity across Member States, thus impairing the implementation of the single monetary policy 

which  is  an  exclusive  competence  of  the  Eurosystem  under  Article  105(2)  of  the  Treaty;  and 

(ii)  affect the transmission of monetary policy decisions. The ECB recommends that the draft 

law be amended to expressly exclude the abovementioned liabilities. 

3.3.3  Second, the ECB understands that the Cypriot Government may issue State guarantees for loans 

taken out by banks. The ECB reminds the consulting authority that the aims of arrangements for 

granting government guarantees of bank debt should be to: (i) address the funding problems of 

liquidity-constrained solvent banks by improving the functioning of the market for bank debt of 

longer  term  maturity;  (ii)  preserve  the  level-playing  field  amongst  financial  institutions  and 

avoid  market  distortions  and  (iii)  ensure  consistency  with  the  management  of  liquidity  by  the 

CBC.  In  line  with  the  Declaration,  the  ECB  notes,  moreover,  that  the  euro  area  Governments 

should  make  available  a  Government  guarantee  of  new  medium  term  (up  to  five  years)  bank 

senior debt issuance, which should be limited in time. The ECB recommends that the draft law 

be amended to reflect the above. 

3.3.4  Third, regarding the pricing of State guarantees, the ECB notes that, in the interests of ensuring 

a  level-playing-field,  it  is  crucial  to  ensure  harmonisation  of  the  price  determination  of  such 

guarantees, both within the euro area and the EU. In particular, it is important to ensure that the 

price of State guarantees is risk-based and market-oriented and that it is determined on the basis 

of  the  costs  of  a  corresponding  guarantee  in  the  market.  In  this  regard,  it  is  recalled  that  the 

Governing  Council  of  the  ECB  has  considered  the  appropriate  framework  for  the  granting  of 

government guarantees on bank debt issuance and agreed on some recommendations to which 

the attention of the consulting authority is drawn13. 

3.3.5  Fourth,  the  ECB  reminds  the  consulting  authority  that  it  is  important  to  ensure  that  the 

beneficiary financial institutions do not profit from the undue use of their guaranteed status to 

engage  in  a  heightened  level  of  activities,  distorting  the  market  and  facilitating  abnormal 

13  

See the Recommendations of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank on the pricing of State guarantees, 
issued on 20 November 2008, available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu  

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balance  sheet  growth.  In  this  regard,  the  ECB  reiterates  the  importance  of  establishing 

appropriate safeguards such as limits on the marketing of financial products or on the expansion 

of their activities on the basis of State guarantees. The ECB recommends that the draft law be 

amended to include such safeguards. 

3.3.6  Fifth,  concerning  the  possible  acquisition,  under  the  draft  law,  of  the  assets  of  financial 

institutions  by  the  Cypriot  Government,  the  ECB  has  the  following  observations  of  relevance 

from a monetary policy perspective. Although such measures should have a positive impact in 

restoring confidence in the Cypriot banking system, it is important that the price applied for the 

acquisition of financial institutions’ assets by the Cypriot Government should be determined in 

a  coordinated  manner  within  the  euro  area  and  the  EU  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  the 

transmission of single monetary policy decisions. This remark also applies to the loans that the 

Cypriot Government may provide to financial institutions under the draft law. 

3.3.7  Sixth, as noted above, the draft law is not expressed to be a temporary measure, nor is there any 

indication  in  its  text  that  any  actual  support  measures  adopted  by  the  competent  national 

authorities in Cyprus will be of limited duration. The ECB recalls that so open-ended a scheme 

as  the  one  envisaged  under  the  draft  law  is  not  in  line  with  the  Declaration  and  should  be 

avoided.  In  particular,  the  Declaration  clearly  draws  attention  to  the  need  for  any  domestic 
support schemes to be temporary in nature, even if they can be extended or renewed14. The ECB 

recommends that a provision on the temporary nature of the support measures is inserted in the 

draft law. 

3.4  Conditions for State capital investments within the euro area  

3.4.1  In line with the Declaration, the ECB reiterates that uncoordinated decisions amongst Member 

States should be avoided, as they may have a negative impact on the integrity of the euro area 

and  lead  to  significant  differences  in  the  treatment  of  financial  institutions  across  Member 

States. This remark also applies to measures related to State capital investments. 

3.4.2  The ECB takes the opportunity to restate the points made in its previous opinions. In particular, 

the ECB draws the consulting authority’s attention to the specific recommendations made by the 
Governing Council of the ECB in the matter of recapitalisations15. In this respect, the ECB notes 

that  the  aim  of  any  recapitalisation  measures  should  be  to  strengthen  the  capital  position  of 

fundamentally sound financial institutions in order  to improve the functioning and stability of 

the  banking  system  and  to  ensure  the  proper  financing  of  the  economy.  In  particular,  a 

consistent  approach  should  be  used  in  defining  the  conditions  for  recapitalisations  and  the 

14  

15  

‘… In all cases, these actions will be designed in order to avoid any distortion in the level playing field and possible 
abuse  at  the  expense  of  non  beneficiaries  of  these  arrangements.  As  a  consequence  the  scheme  will  be  limited  in 
amount,  temporary  (emphasis  is  ours)  and  will  be  applied  under  close  scrutiny  of  financial  authorities  …’ 
(Declaration, supra fn. 7).  Also see Communication from the Commission, supra fn. 12, paragraph 24. 
Recommendations  of  the  Governing  Council  of  the  European  Central  Bank  on  the  pricing  of  recapitalisations  of 
20 November 2008 (hereinafter the ‘Recommendations’), available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

6 

 
 
                                                      
pricing of the instruments intended to provide Tier 1 capital to financial institutions. The ECB 

underlines  the  importance  of  appropriate  pricing  for  recapitalisations  in  terms  of  the  goals  of 

enhancing the stability of the financial system, facilitating a return to normal market conditions 

and ensuring the proper financing of the economy. In its Recommendations, the ECB stresses 

that  the  pricing  conditions  for  capital  support  should  be  risk-based  and  market-oriented, 

determined by taking into consideration the specific risk of both the specific instrument chosen 

for injecting capital and the institution concerned. Specific features of the instruments for capital 

injections (such as preference shares) should be appropriately chosen so that, while encouraging 

an early end to the State’s capital support of banks, they do not result in an excessive increase in 

the cost of capital. 

3.4.3  In line with the Declaration, the ECB also emphasises that harmonisation regarding the expiry 

of national financial support schemes across the EU and in particular within the euro area is of 

crucial  importance,  including  for  State  capital  investments  in  financial  institutions.  In  this 

context, it is important that the draft law should expressly provide for the temporary nature of 

the Cypriot Government’s intervention. More generally, concerning the issue of the application 

of  State  aid  rules  to  measures  taken  by  the  Member  States  in  connection  with  financial 

institutions  in  the  context  of  the  ongoing  financial  crisis,  the  ECB  draws  the  consulting 

authority’s attention to the importance of ensuring that the proposed arrangements comply with 

the  relevant  Community  law  provisions  and  with  the  criteria  recently  laid  down  by  the 

Commission in its guidance on compliance by financial sector support schemes with EU State 
aid  rules16  and  to  the  need  to  ensure  that  the  State’s  shareholder  role  as  a  result  of  a  possible 

future recapitalisation under the draft law is limited in time. In this respect, and in accordance 

with  the  Recommendations,  the  Cypriot  authorities  should  consider  setting  out  terms  for  the 

redemption  or  conversion  of  the  instruments  either  on  the  basis  of  a  fixed  period  of  time  or 

depending on the development of market conditions, so as to preserve the temporary nature of 

the State’s involvement and discourage financial institutions from relying on such involvement 

for an extensive period of time. 

3.5   Central bank involvement in the support measures 

3.5.1  The ECB notes that, pursuant to Section 2 of the draft law, the Ministry of Finance proposes to 

consult  the  Governor  of  the  CBC  prior  to  deciding  whether  or  not  to  support  a  domestic 

financial  institution  or  to  exercise  any  of  the  other  powers  conferred.  While  appreciating  the 

draft  law’s  recognition  of  the  CBC’s  expertise  in  this  field,  the  ECB  also  expects  the  CBC’s 

involvement  in  the  procedure  not  to  extend  beyond  the  provision  of  advice  and  otherwise  to 

comply  fully  with  the  prohibition  on  monetary  financing  laid  down  in  Article  101(1)  of  the 

Treaty,  read  in  conjunction  with  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  3603/93  of  13  December  1993 

16  

See, for instance, paragraph 3.8 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/68 of 13 November 2008 at the request of the Finnish 
Ministry of Finance on a draft government proposal for laws amending the Law on the Government Guarantee Fund 
and the Law on credit institutions. 

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specifying  definitions  for  the  application  of  the  prohibitions  referred  to  in  Articles  104  and 
104b(1) of the Treaty17. In particular, the ECB expects that the support measures envisaged in 

the draft law will be exclusively financed from the State budget and that, to the extent that their 

funding may require State borrowing, this will not include pre-financing or refinancing of the 
State budget by the CBC18.  

3.5.2  The ECB also expects that the Council of Ministers will use its powers in connection with State 

support  measures  in  a  manner  fully  compatible  with  the  CBC’s  institutional  and  financial 

independence thereby safeguarding the proper performance of the CBC’s tasks under the Treaty 

and  the  Statute  of  the  European  System  of  Central  Banks  and  of  the  European  Central  Bank. 

The reference, in the new Section 30A to Section 6 of the Laws of 2002 to 2007 on the Central 

Bank of Cyprus is, in this respect, welcome. 

3.6   Funding of deposit-guarantee schemes 

The ECB notes that deposit-guarantee schemes have been included in the scope of application 

of  the  draft  law.  The  ECB  welcomes  the  intention  to  make  available  an  emergency  funding 

mechanism  to  ensure  the  effectiveness  of  deposit-guarantee  schemes,  an  important  element 

contributing to financial stability. However, it has reservations whether the emergency funding 

of a deposit-guarantee scheme should be provided for via a discretionary mechanism such as the 

one to be established under the draft law. The ECB understands, however, that the rules subject 

to  which  the  Cypriot  deposit-guarantee  scheme  operates  are  currently  in  the  process  of  being 

amended and the ECB will comment further on the relevant aspects in due course, particularly 

concerning the funding of the Cypriot deposit-guarantee scheme. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 9 February 2009. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

17  
18  

OJ L 332, 31.12.1993, p.1. 
In this regard see, for instance, paragraph 3.3 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/88 of 19 December 2008 at the request of 
the Slovenian Ministry of Finance on a draft decree laying down criteria and conditions for granting guarantees under 
Article 86.a of the Law on public finance, paragraph 3.2.3 of ECB Opinion CON/2008/92 of 22 December 2008 at 
the request of the Slovenian Ministry of Finance on a draft decree laying down criteria and conditions for granting 
loans  under  Article  81.a  of  the  Law  on  public  finance  and  paragraph  3.2.3  of  ECB  Opinion  CON/2009/3  of 
8 January 2009  at  the  request  of  the  Slovenian  Ministry  of  Finance  on  a  draft  decree  laying  down  criteria  and 
conditions  for  the  implementation  of  State  capital  investments  and  for  the  conversion  of  State  claims  into  capital 
shares under Article 81.a of the Law on public finance. 

8