Cap. 523 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 505.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

"European Financial Stability Facility" has the meaning assigned to it by article 2 of the Participation and Guarantees under the

European Financial Stability Facility Act; "European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism" means the financial assistance granted to Members States which experienced or are threatened with a severe economic or financial disturbance in terms of Council Regulation (EU) No. 407/2010 of 11 May 2010 establishing a European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism; "European Stability Mechanism" means the permanent stability mechanism, established by the European Council on the 17 December 2010 to assume the tasks fulfilled by the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism to provide, where needed, financial assistance to the Members of the European Stability Mechanism, in accordance with the decision annexed as Schedule 1 and which shall take the form of an intergovernmental organization under public international law, to be located in Luxembourg, as established by a decision of the European Council on the 25 March 2011, which decision is annexed as Schedule 2; "Malta" meaning assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution of Malta; "Members of the European Stability Mechanism" means the Euro Area Member States of the European Union and such other Member State of the European Union that has joined the European Stability Mechanism following the adoption by the Council of the European Union of the decision to abrogate its derogation from adopting the euro in accordance with Article 140(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;

*see article 1(2) of this Act as originally promulgated, and Legal Notice 232 of 2012. the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism, as implemented by the Board of Directors of the same European Stability Mechanism, to a Member of the European Stability Mechanism for the purpose of sub-article (2) of article 3 of this Act, through precautionary financial assistance in the form of a precautionary conditioned credit line or in the form of an enhanced conditions credit line, loans, loans to a Member of the European Stability Mechanism for the specific purpose of re-capitalising the financial institutions of that Member of the European Stability Mechanism, the purchase of bonds on the primary market with the objective of maximizing the cost efficiency of the financial assistance, and operations on the secondary bond market, in terms of article 14 to 18 of the Treaty;

"the Treaty" means the treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism between the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Estonia, Ireland, The Hellenic Republic, The Kingdom of Spain, The French Republic, The Italian Republic, The Republic of Cyprus, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malta, The Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Republic of Austria, The Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Slovenia, The Slovak Republic and the Republic of Finland, as approved by the Council of the European Union, signed on the 2 February 2012, annexed as Schedule 3.