EFC Sub-Committee on EU Sovereign Debt Markets

This site has been set up to facilitate the provision of information made available by the EFC Sub-Committee on EU Sovereign Debt Markets to market participants.

The Sub-Committee was first established as the EFC sub-committee on EU government Bills and Bonds Market in December 1997 to study the modalities of debt re-denomination in stage 3 of EMU and other issues related to government bonds and bills markets in the context of the changeover to the euro and, to further promote the integration and a better functioning of EU government bond markets.

Since then, the mandate was extended at several occasions: in 1999, to monitor the new euro-denominated bond market and to discuss issues related to the efficient functioning of the EU's primary and secondary government debt markets.

In March 2000, the Lisbon European Council acknowledged the importance of the group's work to the broader process of financial integration and the functioning of Sovereign Debt markets through greater consultation and transparency.

In 2010, the new mandate further extended the tasks of the Sub-Committee in contributing to the preparation of EFC common positions on regulatory issues which significantly impact on sovereign debt markets (and therefore on the cost of public finance) and to prepare common understandings on technical issues such as collective action clauses and collateral swap agreements.

The Sub-committee is comprised of members from all 27 EU Member States responsible. The European Commission, the European Central Bank, the EIB and the EFSF are also represented.

During the periods 1997-2004 and 2004-2010, the Sub-committee was chaired by Grégoire Brouhns and Jens Thomsen, respectively. The current chairman is Mr. Philippe Mills, Chief Executive of the Agence France Trésor.