European Stability Mechanism
ESM headquarters in Luxembourg City | |
ESM member states Other EU member states | |
| Formation | 27 September 2012 |
|---|---|
| Type | IGO |
| Legal status | Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism |
| Headquarters | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 49°38′07″N 6°10′06″E / 49.63529°N 6.1684°E |
| Membership | 20 (all Member States of the eurozone) |
| Pierre Gramegna | |
President of the Board of Governors | Paschal Donohoe |
Organs | Board of Governors Board of Directors |
| Staff | 221 by 31 December 2021 |
| Website | esm.europa.eu |
| This article is part of a series on |
| European Union portal |
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).