EU member countries have agreed to notify the other member states of transactions with a credit term of more than 5 years.
The EU member countries have also undertaken to adhere to common standards regarding transactions insured with official support. Deviations from these standards must be communicated to the other member states and to the Commission within the framework of the EU consultation procedure.
Both buyer credits and supplier credits fall under this consultation procedure if
- the credit term is more than five years from the starting point of credit or
- the transaction involves a deviation from other EC standards.
Where cover is promised for an export credit, this must be reported promptly, with the written consent of the applicant.
Information on individual transactions
For every notifiable transaction, the following main items of information are stated:
- Buyer country
- Location of the transaction, or of the head office of the contracting party in the destination country
- Goods or services exported
- Size class of the transaction
- Whether the buyer and any guarantor is a public or private entity
- Credit terms and conditions
Deadlines
The member states and the Commission have seven calendar days to state an opinion on a cover application. If five or more member countries decline a given application, a consultation meeting must be held on the transaction.
In practice, the mandatory consultation within a set period before provision of cover means that exporters from EU countries can obtain a guarantee or guarantee offer only after the applicable deadlines or after any consultation is completed.