Accession of new ESM members

Accession of new ESM members

In line with the preamble of the ESM Treaty, EU Member States should become an ESM Member with full rights and obligations following their adoption of the euro. On such basis, applications for accession to the ESM, including the related technical terms and adaptations to the ESM Treaty, are to be approved by the ESM Board of Governors. Subsequently, the acceding ESM Member is to ratify the ESM Treaty.

When the ESM was established in 2012, the 17 countries comprising the euro area at that time became the founding Members of the institution. Since then, three additional countries: Latvia, Lithuania, and Croatia have joined the euro area and become ESM Members.

ESM capital contribution

Each Member contributes to the ESM authorised capital based its respective share of the EU total population and gross domestic product (GDP).

In line with Article 42 of the ESM Treaty, ESM Members whose GDP per capita (at market prices in euro in the year immediately preceding their accession) is less than 75% of the EU average would benefit from a temporary correction of the capital contribution key for a period of 12 years after the date of its adoption of the euro.

During this period, the initial capital subscription of the ESM Member benefiting from the correction is lower, thus leading to a temporarily lower paid-in capital contribution. Once this period comes to an end, the ESM Member must deposit the remaining amount.
The following countries currently benefit from a temporary correction (the end of the 12-year correction period is shown in parentheses): Latvia (2026), Lithuania (2027), and Croatia (2035).