05/10/20

European Commission's public consultation on short-term export-credit insurance

Are you a public authority, a company involved in export credit insurance or simply an interested party? Then you have until 7 October 2020 to make your opinion known!

In the Communication from the Commission to 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, marketable risks are not covered by export-credit insurance supported by Member States. Indeed, the Commission considers that where short-term export-credit risks inside the EU and a small number of other countries are ‘marketable’, Member States should leave the insurance of these risks to private parties (or to public entities acting as market economy operators).

On 27 March 2020, due to Covid-19, the Commission amended the Communication, considering all commercial and political risks associated with exports to the countries listed in the Annex as temporarily non-marketable until 31 December 2020, thus allowing the States to intervene in this type of operation.

The Commission now wonders whether the current market situation could justify the removal of all countries from the list of marketable risk countries in the Annex to this Communication. In order to determine whether there is currently sufficient private capacity to ensure exports to these countries, the Commission requests the following information:

Private credit insurance capacity: availability of credit insurance from private insurers in all Member States in the light of the COVID-19 epidemic.
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 all countries in the light of the COVID-19 epidemic: 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.
Corporate sector performance in all countries, if available (e.g. forecasts for 2021 in the light of the COVID-19 outbreak, in particular on insolvencies).
Other relevant data and information.

Due to the confidential nature of the information sought, the Commission assures that the contributions received will not be published.

The opinion of market players is essential to enable the Commission to adopt adequate, relevant and realistic rules.

Marguerite Soete, Associate, Brussels

Annabelle Lepièce, Partner, Brussels

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