Proposal for a COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION amending Implementing Decision 2011/77/EU on granting Union financial assistance to Ireland
Date: 2013-06-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU aid, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, Ireland, economic stabilisation, financial aid, sustainable development

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 11.6.2013  
COM(2013) 434 final 

2013/0203 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION 

amending Implementing Decision 2011/77/EU on granting Union financial assistance to 
Ireland 

{SWD(2013) 212 final} 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

Upon a request by Ireland, the Council granted financial assistance to Ireland on 7 December 
2010  (Implementing  Decision  2011/77/EU)  in  support  of  a  strong  economic  and  financial 
reform  programme  aiming  at  restoring  confidence,  enabling  the  return  of  the  economy  to 
sustainable growth, and safeguarding financial stability in Ireland, the euro area and the EU. 

In line with Article 3(9) of Decision 2011/77/EU, the Commission, together with the IMF and 
in liaison with the ECB, has conducted the tenth review of the Irish authorities' progress on 
the implementation of the agreed measures as well as of the effectiveness and economic and 
social impact of the agreed measures.  

Taking  into  account  of  intervened  information,  the  Commission  proposes  to  modify  the 
economic policy conditions underpinning the assistance. The Commission views the proposed 
changes to the economic policy conditions as necessary to ensure the smooth implementation 
of the programme and secure the programme's objectives. 

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2013/0203 (NLE) 

Proposal for a 

COUNCIL IMPLEMENTING DECISION 

amending Implementing Decision 2011/77/EU on granting Union financial assistance to 
Ireland 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,  

Having  regard  to  Council  Regulation  (EU)  No  407/2010  of  11  May  2010  establishing  a 
European  financial  stabilisation  mechanism1,  and  in  particular  Article  3(2)  and  Article  3(7) 
thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Upon a request by Ireland, the Council granted financial assistance to it (Implementing 
Decision  2011/77/EU2)  in  support  of  a  strong  economic  and  financial  reform 
programme  aiming  at  restoring  confidence,  enabling  the  return  of  the  economy  to 
sustainable  growth,  and  safeguarding  financial  stability  in  Ireland,  the  euro  area  and 
the Union. 

In  line  with  Article  3(9)  of  Implementing  Decision  2011/77/EU,  the  Commission, 
together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and in liaison with the European 
Central Bank (ECB), has conducted the tenth review of the Irish authorities' progress 
on  the  implementation  of  the  agreed  measures  as  well  as  of  the  effectiveness  and 
economic and social impact of the agreed measures. 

Following  the  political  agreement  reached  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council, it is expected that the legislation setting up a Single Supervisory Mechanism 
(SSM) will be adopted soon. In this context the next EU-wide stress tests of banks, to 
be conducted under the aegis of the European Banking Authority (EBA), will not take 
place in 2013 as previously expected.  

In preparation for the SSM entry stress test and with a view to (i) having meaningful 
diagnostics  before  the  programme  ends  and  (ii)  ensuring  as  much  as  possible 
consistency across different assessment exercises, Ireland should therefore carry out a 
series  of  supervisory  steps,  including  a  preliminary  comprehensive  balance  sheet 
assessment, before the end of 2013.  

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2 

OJ L 118, 12.5.2010, p. 1. 
OJ L 30, 4.2.2011, p. 34. 

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(5) 

(6) 

Ireland has reaffirmed its commitment to transfer without delay the responsibility for 
the  water  sector  from  local  authorities  to  a  national  public  utility  and  to  introduce 
water charges for households. Ireland has demonstrated good progress in carrying out 
the  reform  of  its  water  sector,  including  with  the  enactment  of  legislation,  the 
establishment of Irish Water and the completion of operational steps for the transition 
process.  Technical  reasons  would  justify  deferring  the  introduction  of  water  charges 
for households to 2014, without compromising the reform process as whole. 

light  of 

In 
2011/77/EU should be amended, 

these  developments  and  considerations,  Implementing  Decision 

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:  

Article 1 

Article 3, paragraph 10, of Implementing Decision 2011/77/EU is amended as follows: 

1) point (a) is replaced by the following: 

"(a) in accordance with the methodology to be agreed by end July 2013, complete a 
preliminary balance sheet assessment before the end of the programme, as part of the 
preparatory  work  towards  a  stress  test  to  be  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  new 
EU methodology." 

2) the following point is added: 

"(c)  communicate  to  the  Commission  the  funding  model  for  Irish  Water  and 
announce a definitive time-plan for the introduction of domestic water charges in the 
fourth quarter of 2014."  

This Decision is addressed to Ireland.  

Article 2 

Article 3 

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.  

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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