On 7 September 2017, an agreement was reached between EU foreign ministers to move forward with PESCA with 10 first projects. [70] [71] [72] [73] The agreement was signed on 13 November by 23 of the 28 Member States. On 7 December 2017, Ireland and Portugal expressed to the High Representative and the Council of the European Union their wish to join PESCA. [74] Denmark did not participate since it has a derogation from the Common Security and Defence Policy, nor does the United Kingdom, which is due to leave the EU in 2019. [75] [76] Malta also chose not to do so. [77] [78] When EU countries negotiate energy agreements with third countries, they must ensure that these agreements comply with EU law. This will help ensure the proper functioning of the EU`s internal energy market. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organisation based in Luxembourg City, active in international law for all euro area Member States that have ratified a special intergovernmental treaty establishing the ESM. With the entry into force of the Intergovernmental Treaty on 27 September 2012, it was created as a permanent firewall for the euro area in order to guarantee euro area Member States in financial difficulty a maximum lending capacity of €500 billion and to allow immediate access to financial assistance programmes. It replaced two former temporary EU funding programmes: the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM). All new rescue plans for euro area Member States will be covered by the ESM, while the EFSF and efSM will continue to support transfers of funds and programmed accompaniments for previously approved rescue plans for Ireland, Portugal and Greece. When it was created, the 17 euro area Member States ratified the agreement to become members of the ESM.
In accordance with the text of the Treaty, the ESM is open for accession by each EU Member State as soon as the Council of the European Union has lifted its derogation from the use of the euro. New members must first be approved by the ESM Board of Governors, after which they should ratify the ESM Treaty. [89] Following latvia`s adoption of the euro on 1 January 2014 and 9 July by the ECOFIN Council[90][91], the ESM Governing Council approved Latvia`s application for membership in October 2013. [92] Latvia was the first state to join the ESM and adopted the 13th Official Member on March 1, 2014. Lithuania adopted the euro on 1 January 2015 and joined the ESM with formal membership from 3 February 2015. [93] The European Fiscal Compact is an intergovernmental treaty on fiscal integration signed by 25 Member States of the European Union (EU), all except the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom; Croatia joined the European Union in July 2013) on 2 March 2012 [95]. Although the European Fiscal Compact was negotiated between the EU Member States, it is not formally part of EU law. It does, however, contain a provision to introduce the Pact into the Treaties establishing the European Union within five years of its entry into force. . . .