Government guarantees

The data on contingent liabilities and potential obligations of government are collected in the context of the Enhanced Economic Governance package (the "six-pack") adopted in 2011. In particular, Council Directive 2011/85 on requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States requires the Member States to publish relevant information on contingent liabilities with potentially large impacts on public budgets, including government guarantees, non-performing loans, and liabilities stemming from the operation of public corporations, including the extent thereof. The liabilities are called “contingent” in the sense that they are by nature only potential and not actual liabilities. Non-performing loans could imply a potential loss for government if these loans were not repaid. This new data collection represents a step towards further transparency of public finances in the EU by giving a more comprehensive picture of EU Member States’ financial positions3 It is to be underlined that contingent liabilities are not part of the general government (Maastricht) debt as defined in the Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community. Eurostat collects and publishes the following indicators: government guarantees, liabilities related to public-private partnerships recorded off-balance sheet of government, liabilities of government controlled entities classified outside general government (public corporations) and non-performing loans. Regarding government controlled entities, it should be mentioned that this refers to  government controlled units, not classified in general government, and which are controlled, directly or indirectly (through other public units), by government. In cases when the government share in a corporation is lower than 50% and government does not have control over an entity, the corporation is not considered as controlled by government. Regarding the control criteria, according to ESA 2010 paragraph 20.18: “Control over an entity is the ability to determine the general policy or programme of that entity (…)”. The criteria to be used for corporations are indicated in ESA 2010 paragraphs 2.38 and further detailed in paragraph 20.309. ESA 2010 paragraph 2.38 specifies that: “General government secures control over a corpo­ration as a result of special legislation, decree or reg­ulation which empowers the government to deter­mine corporate policy. The following indicators are the main factors to consider in deciding whether a corporation is controlled by government:(a) government ownership of the majority of the voting interest; (b) government control of the board or governing body; (c) government control of the appointment and removal of key personnel;(d) government control of key committees in the entity; (e) government possession of a golden share; (f) special regulations; (g) government as a dominant customer; (h) borrowing from government. A single indicator may be sufficient to establish control, but, in other cases, a number of separate indicators may collectively indicate control.”

本次采集的政府或有负债（contingent liabilities）与潜在义务相关数据，采集自2011年通过的强化经济治理框架（"六包"法案）。具体而言，欧盟理事会2011/85号指令《关于成员国预算框架的要求》规定，成员国需发布对公共预算可能产生重大影响的或有负债相关信息，包括政府担保、不良贷款（non-performing loans）以及源自公共企业运营的负债（含其规模）。此类负债被称为"或有负债"，因其本质上仅为潜在而非实际负债。不良贷款若未能获偿，则可能给政府带来潜在损失。本次新增的数据采集工作，旨在通过全面展现欧盟成员国的财政状况³，进一步提升欧盟公共财政的透明度。需特别说明的是，或有负债并不属于《2009年5月25日关于适用〈建立欧洲共同体条约〉附件的过度赤字程序议定书》的理事会条例（EC）第479/2009号所定义的一般政府（马斯特里赫特）债务范畴。欧盟统计局（Eurostat）采集并发布以下指标：政府担保、计入政府表外的公私合作伙伴关系（public-private partnerships）相关负债、归类于一般政府之外的政府控股实体负债（即公共企业）以及不良贷款。就政府控股实体而言，此处指的是未归类于一般政府、且由政府直接或间接（通过其他公共部门单位）控股的公共部门单位。若政府在某企业中的持股比例低于50%且未对该实体拥有控制权，则该企业不被视为政府控股企业。关于控制权判定标准，根据《2010年欧洲国民账户体系》（ESA 2010）第20.18段规定："对某一实体的控制权，是指能够决定该实体的总体政策或规划的能力（……）"。企业控制权的判定标准见于《2010年欧洲国民账户体系》第2.38段，并在第20.309段中进一步细化。《2010年欧洲国民账户体系》第2.38段规定："一般政府可通过特殊立法、法令或条例赋予自身决定企业政策的权力，从而取得对企业的控制权。判定某企业是否由政府控股时，需考量以下核心指标：(a) 政府持有多数表决权股份；(b) 政府掌控企业董事会或治理机构；(c) 政府有权任免企业关键岗位人员；(d) 政府掌控企业内部关键委员会；(e) 政府持有黄金股；(f) 存在特殊监管规定；(g) 政府为企业的主要客户；(h) 企业向政府借款。仅凭单一指标即可认定控制权，部分情形下也可通过多项独立指标共同判定控制权。"