Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Eurogroup announced on 27 September that the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM Treaty) will enter into force following the deposit by Germany of its instrument of ratification. In addition, the representatives of the parties signed an agreement on the interpretation for the Article 8(5) of the ESM Treaty and the Article 32(5), Article 34 and Article 35(1).

The Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism will enter into force following the deposit by Germany of its instrument of ratification. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Eurogroup, welcomed the entry into force of the ESM Treaty and announced that Estonia will ratify the Treaty in the very next days, closing the ratification process by the 17 euro area Member States. European leaders reached an agreement on the ESM Treaty in January 2012.

In a separate declaration, the Eurogroup also announced that the representatives of the parties to the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) agreed on the interpretative declaration for several articles, in particular, Article 8(5) that limits all payment liabilities of the ESM Members under the Treaty in the sense that no provision of the Treaty may be interpreted as leading to payment obligations higher than the portion of the authorised capital stock corresponding to each ESM Member; and Article 32(5), Article 34 and Article 35(1) of the Treaty that do not prevent providing comprehensive information to the national parliaments, as foreseen by national regulation.

The ESM will be globally the largest international financial institution with a strong capital base of €700 billion of which €80 billion will be paid-in by early 2014 including almost €33 billion in October. As agreed by the Eurogroup, the ESM will have a combined firepower with the EFSF of €700 billion. According to Mr Juncker, the ESM is now the cornerstone of the European firewall and an integral part of the EU comprehensive strategy to ensure financial stability in the euro area.