Being a member of the euro area,
Greece retains the option of
obtaining financial assistance
from the IMF. However it is not eligible
for MTFA assistance because
Article 143 of the Lisbon Treaty
explicitly reserves such assistance
to member states ‘with a
derogation’, ie those outside the
euro area. This clause has generally
been interpreted as one element
of the Treaty's prohibition on bailing-
out euro-area countries with
budgetary problems. Such an
interpretation is plainly wrong.
Article 125 of the Treaty explicitly
prohibits the EU and individual
member states from being ‘liable
for or assum[ing] the commitments
of... any (other) member
state’. This no-coresponsibility
principle was introduced into the
EU Treaty at the time of Maastricht,
and is an essential pillar of EMU. It
is clear and sound, and should
remain untouched. However,
Article 143 is totally different. It is
not about the EU or any member
state assuming the liabilities of
another member state, but about
granting a loan to a member state.
It has a different origin in the history
of EMU to Article 125 (see Box
1), and should not be interpreted
as a no-assistance principle, for
two reasons:
• First, euro-area members
remain members of the IMF and
therefore have access to conditional
assistance. It would be
illogical for the EU to ban assistance
to its members while
allowing them to get assistance
from the IMF.
• Second, the availability of
assistance does not necessarily
create moral hazard if it is
subject to proper conditionality.
http://www.bruegel.org/fileadmin/files/ ... _final.pdf