Regulation (EU) No 1233/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 November 2011 on the application of certain guidelines in the field of officially supported export credits and repealing Council Decisions 2001/76/EC and 2001/77/EC

Application of the Arrangement

Article 1

The guidelines contained in the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits (‘the Arrangement’) shall apply in the Union. The text of the Arrangement is annexed to this Regulation.

Delegation of power

Article 2

The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 3 to amend Annex II as a result of amendments to the guidelines agreed upon by the Participants to the Arrangement. Where, in the case of amendments to Annex II as a result of amendments to the guidelines agreed upon by the Participants to the Arrangement, imperative grounds of urgency so require, the procedure provided for in Article 4 shall apply to delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article.

Exercise of the delegation

Article 3

1.   The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article. 2.   The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 2 shall be conferred on the Commission for an indeterminate period of time from 9 December 2011. 3.   The delegation of power referred to in Article 2 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force. 4.   As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council. 5.   A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 2 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of 2 months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by 2 months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Urgency procedure

Article 4

1.   Delegated acts adopted pursuant to this Article shall enter into force without delay and shall apply as long as no objection is expressed in accordance with paragraph 2. The notification of a delegated act to the European Parliament and to the Council shall state the reasons for the use of the urgency procedure. 2.   Either the European Parliament or the Council may object to a delegated act in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 3(5). In such a case, the Commission shall repeal the act without delay following the notification of the decision to object by the European Parliament or by the Council.

Transparency and reporting

Article 5

The transparency and reporting measures to be applied in the Union are set out in Annex I.

Repeal

Article 6

Decisions 2001/76/EC and 2001/77/EC are hereby repealed.

Entry into force

Article 7

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

ANNEX ISupplementary provisions

ANNEX I 1.    Without prejudice to the prerogatives of the Member States' institutions exercising the supervision of the national export credit programs, each Member State shall make available to the Commission an Annual Activity Report in order to step up transparency at Union level. Member States shall report, in accordance with their national legislative framework, on assets and liabilities, claims paid and recoveries, new commitments, exposures and premium charges. Where contingent liabilities might arise from officially supported export credit activities, those activities shall be reported as part of the Annual Activity Report. 2.    In the Annual Activity Report, Member States shall describe how environmental risks, which can carry other relevant risks, are taken into account in the officially supported export credit activities of their ECAs. 3.    The Commission shall produce an annual review for the European Parliament based on this information, including an evaluation regarding the compliance of ECAs with Union objectives and obligations. 4.    The Commission, according to its competencies shall provide to the European Parliament an annual report on negotiations undertaken, where the Commission has negotiating authorisation in the various forums of international cooperation, to establish global standards in the field of officially supported export credits. The first reporting period, under the scope of this Regulation, covers the year 2011.

ANNEX IISupplementary provisions

ANNEX II ARRANGEMENT ON OFFICIALLY SUPPORTED EXPORT CREDITS TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I: GENERAL PROVISIONS 52 1. PURPOSE 52 2. STATUS 52 3. PARTICIPATION 52 4. INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO NON-PARTICIPANTS 52 5. SCOPE OF APPLICATION 52 6. SECTOR UNDERSTANDINGS 53 7. PROJECT FINANCE 53 8. WITHDRAWAL 53 9. MONITORING 53 CHAPTER II: FINANCIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR EXPORT CREDITS 53 10. DOWN PAYMENT, MAXIMUM OFFICIAL SUPPORT AND LOCAL COSTS 53 11. CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTRIES FOR MAXIMUM REPAYMENT TERMS 54 12. MAXIMUM REPAYMENT TERMS 54 13. REPAYMENT TERMS FOR NON-NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 54 14. REPAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL AND PAYMENT OF INTEREST 55 15. INTEREST RATES, PREMIUM RATES AND OTHER FEES 56 16. VALIDITY PERIOD FOR EXPORT CREDITS 56 17. ACTION TO AVOID OR MINIMISE LOSSES 56 18. MATCHING 56 19. MINIMUM FIXED INTEREST RATES UNDER OFFICIAL FINANCING SUPPORT 56 20. CONSTRUCTION OF CIRRs 56 21. VALIDITY OF CIRRs 57 22. APPLICATION OF CIRRs 57 23. PREMIUM FOR CREDIT RISK 57 24. MINIMUM PREMIUM RATES FOR COUNTRY AND SOVEREIGN CREDIT RISK 57 25. COUNTRY RISK CLASSIFICATION 58 26. CLASSIFICATION OF MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS 59 27. PERCENTAGE AND QUALITY OF OFFICIAL EXPORT CREDIT COVER 59 28. EXCLUSION OF SELECTED COUNTRY RISK ELEMENTS AND COUNTRY RISK MITIGATION TECHNIQUES 60 29. REVIEW OF THE VALIDITY OF THE MINIMUM PREMIUM RATES FOR COUNTRY AND SOVEREIGN CREDIT RISK 61 CHAPTER III: PROVISIONS FOR TIED AID 61 30. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 61 31. FORMS OF TIED AID 61 32. ASSOCIATED FINANCING 62 33. COUNTRY ELIGIBILITY FOR TIED AID 62 34. PROJECT ELIGIBILITY 63 35. MINIMUM CONCESSIONALITY LEVEL 63 36. EXEMPTIONS FROM COUNTRY OR PROJECT ELIGIBILITY FOR TIED AID 64 37. CALCULATION OF CONCESSIONALITY LEVEL OF TIED AID 64 38. VALIDITY PERIOD FOR TIED AID 65 39. MATCHING 65 CHAPTER IV: PROCEDURES 66 SECTION 1: COMMON PROCEDURES FOR EXPORT CREDITS AND TRADE-RELATED AID 66 40. NOTIFICATIONS 66 41. INFORMATION ON OFFICIAL SUPPORT 66 42. PROCEDURES FOR MATCHING 66 43. SPECIAL CONSULTATIONS 66 SECTION 2: PROCEDURES FOR EXPORT CREDITS 67 44. PRIOR NOTIFICATION WITH DISCUSSION 67 45. PRIOR NOTIFICATION WITHOUT DISCUSSION 67 SECTION 3: PROCEDURES FOR TRADE-RELATED AID 67 46. PRIOR NOTIFICATION 67 47. PROMPT NOTIFICATION 68 SECTION 4: CONSULTATION PROCEDURES FOR TIED AID 68 48. PURPOSE OF CONSULTATIONS 68 49. SCOPE AND TIMING OF CONSULTATIONS 68 50. OUTCOME OF CONSULTATIONS 69 SECTION 5: INFORMATION EXCHANGE FOR EXPORT CREDITS AND TRADE-RELATED AID 69 51. CONTACT POINTS 69 52. SCOPE OF ENQUIRIES 69 53. SCOPE OF RESPONSES 69 54. FACE-TO-FACE CONSULTATIONS 69 55. PROCEDURES AND FORMAT OF COMMON LINES 70 56. RESPONSES TO COMMON LINE PROPOSALS 70 57. ACCEPTANCE OF COMMON LINES 70 58. DISAGREEMENT ON COMMON LINES 71 59. EFFECTIVE DATE OF COMMON LINE 71 60. VALIDITY OF COMMON LINES 71 SECTION 6: OPERATIONAL PROVISIONS FOR THE COMMUNICATION OF MINIMUM INTEREST RATES (CIRRs) 71 61. COMMUNICATION OF MINIMUM INTEREST RATES 71 62. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR APPLICATION OF INTEREST RATES 71 63. IMMEDIATE CHANGES IN INTEREST RATES 71 SECTION 7: REVIEWS 72 64. REGULAR REVIEW OF THE ARRANGEMENT 72 65. REVIEW OF MINIMUM INTEREST RATES 72 66. REVIEW OF MINIMUM PREMIUM RATES AND RELATED ISSUES 72 ANNEX I: SECTOR UNDERSTANDING ON EXPORT CREDITS FOR SHIPS 73 ANNEX II: SECTOR UNDERSTANDING ON EXPORT CREDITS FOR NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 76 ANNEX III: SECTOR UNDERSTANDING ON EXPORT CREDITS FOR CIVIL AIRCRAFT 78 ANNEX IV: SECTOR UNDERSTANDING ON EXPORT CREDITS, RENEWABLE ENERGIES AND WATER PROJECTS, IN FORCE FOR A TRIAL PERIOD UNTIL 30 JUNE 2007 89 ANNEX V: INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED FOR NOTIFICATIONS 92 ANNEX VI: CALCULATION OF THE MINIMUM PREMIUM RATES 97 ANNEX VII: CRITERIA AND CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE APPLICATION OF COUNTRY RISK CLASSIFICATION REFLECTING A THIRD COUNTRY GUARANTOR OR A MULTILATERAL OR REGIONAL INSTITUTION 99 ANNEX VIII: CRITERIA AND CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE APPLICATION OF COUNTRY RISK MITIGATION/EXCLUSION IN CALCULATING THE MINIMUM PREMIUM RATES 101 ANNEX IX: CHECKLIST OF DEVELOPMENTAL QUALITY 108 ANNEX X: TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO PROJECT FINANCE TRANSACTIONS 109 ANNEX XI: LIST OF DEFINITIONS 111 CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS 1.    Purpose a) The main purpose of the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, referred to throughout this document as the Arrangement, is to provide a framework for the orderly use of officially supported export credits. b) The Arrangement seeks to foster a level playing field for official support, as defined in Article 5 a), in order to encourage competition among exporters based on quality and price of goods and services exported rather than on the most favourable officially supported financial terms and conditions. 2.    Status The Arrangement, developed within the OECD framework, initially came into effect in April 1978 and is of indefinite duration. The Arrangement is a Gentlemen's Agreement among the Participants; it is not an OECD Act  ( 1 ) , although it receives the administrative support of the OECD Secretariat (‘the Secretariat’). 3.    Participation The Participants to the Arrangement currently are: Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United States. Other OECD Members and non-Members may be invited to become Participants by the current Participants. 4.    Information available to non-participants a) The Participants undertake to share information with non-Participants on notifications related to official support as set out in Article 5 a). b) A Participant shall, on the basis of reciprocity, reply to a request from a non-Participant in a competitive situation on the financial terms and conditions offered for its official support, as it would reply to a request from a Participant. 5.    Scope of application The Arrangement shall apply to all official support provided by or on behalf of a government for export of goods and/or services, including financial leases, which have a repayment term of 2 years or more. a) Official support may be provided in different forms: 1. Export credit guarantee or insurance (pure cover). 2. Official financing support: — direct credit/financing and refinancing, or — interest rate support. 3. Any combination of the above. b) The Arrangement shall apply to tied aid; the procedures set out in Chapter IV shall also apply to trade-related untied aid. c) The Arrangement does not apply to exports of Military Equipment and Agricultural Commodities. d) Official support shall not be provided if there is clear evidence that the contract has been structured with a purchaser in a country which is not the final destination of the goods primarily with the aim of obtaining more favourable repayment terms. 6.    Sector understandings a) The following Sector Understandings are part of the Arrangement: — Ships (Annex I), — Nuclear Power Plants (Annex II), — Civil Aircraft (Annex III), — Renewable Energies and Water Projects (Annex IV). b) A Participant to a Sector Understanding may apply its provisions for official support for export of goods and/or services covered by that Sector Understanding. Where a Sector Understanding does not include a corresponding provision to that of the Arrangement, a Participant to the Sector Understanding shall apply the provision of the Arrangement. 7.    Project finance a) The Participants may apply the terms and conditions set out in Annex X to the export of goods and/or services for transactions that meet the criteria set out in Appendix 1 of Annex X. b) Paragraph a) does not apply to the export of goods and services covered by the Sector Understanding on Civil Aircraft. 8.    Withdrawal A Participant may withdraw by notifying the Secretariat in writing by means of instant communication, e.g. the OECD On-line Information System (OLIS). The withdrawal takes effect 180 calendar days after receipt of the notification by the Secretariat. 9.    Monitoring The Secretariat shall monitor the implementation of the Arrangement. CHAPTER II FINANCIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR EXPORT CREDITS Financial terms and conditions for export credits encompass all the provisions set out in this Chapter which shall be read in conjunction one with the other. The Arrangement sets out limitations on terms and conditions that may be officially supported. The Participants recognise that more restrictive financial terms and conditions than those provided for by the Arrangement traditionally apply to certain trade or industrial sectors. The Participants shall continue to respect such customary financial terms and conditions, in particular the principle by which repayment terms do not exceed the useful life of the goods. 10.    Down payment, maximum official support and local costs a) The Participants shall require purchasers of goods and services which are the subject of official support to make down payments of a minimum of 15 per cent of the export contract value at or before the starting point of credit as defined in Annex XI. For the assessment of down payments, the export contract value may be reduced proportionally if the transaction includes goods and services from a third country which are not officially supported. Financing/insurance of 100 per cent of the premium is permissible. Premium may or may not be included in the export contract value. Retention payments made after the starting point of credit are not regarded as down payment in this context. b) Official support for such down payments shall only take the form of insurance or guarantee against the usual pre-credit risks. c) Except as provided for in paragraphs b) and d), the Participants shall not provide official support in excess of 85 per cent of the export contract value, including third country supply but excluding local costs. d) The Participants may provide official support for local costs, provided that: 1. The total combined official support provided pursuant to paragraphs c) and d) shall not exceed 100 per cent of the export contract value. In consequence, the amount of local costs supported shall not exceed the amount of the down payment. 2. It shall not be provided on terms more favourable/less restrictive than those agreed for the related exports. 3. For Category I countries as defined in Article 11 a), it shall be limited to pure cover. 11.    Classification of countries for maximum repayment terms a) Category I countries are those which are on the World Bank's graduation list  ( 2 ) . All other countries are in Category II. The World Bank graduation level is recalculated on an annual basis. A country will change category only after its World Bank category has remained unchanged for 2 consecutive years. b) The following operational criteria and procedures apply when classifying countries: 1. Classification for Arrangement purposes is determined by per capita GNI as calculated by the World Bank for the purposes of the World Bank classification of borrowing countries. 2. In cases where the World Bank does not have enough information to publish per capita GNI data, the World Bank shall be asked to estimate whether the country in question has per capita GNI above or below the current threshold. The country shall be classified according to the estimate unless the Participants decide to act otherwise. 3. If a country is reclassified in accordance with Article 11 a), the reclassification will take effect 2 weeks after the conclusions drawn from the abovementioned data from the World Bank have been communicated to all Participants by the Secretariat. 4. In cases where the World Bank revises figures, such revisions shall be disregarded in relation to the Arrangement. Nevertheless, the classification of a country may be changed by way of a Common Line and Participants would favourably consider a change due to errors and omissions in the figures subsequently recognised in the same calendar year in which the figures were first distributed by the Secretariat. 12.    Maximum repayment terms Without prejudice to Article 13, the maximum repayment term varies according to the classification of the country of destination determined by the criteria in Article 11. a) For Category I countries, the maximum repayment term is 5 years, with the possibility of agreeing up to 8½ years when the procedures for prior notification set out in Article 45 are followed. b) For Category II countries, the maximum repayment term is 10 years. c) In the event of a contract involving more than one country of destination the Participants should seek to establish a Common Line in accordance with the procedures in Articles 55 to 60 to reach agreement on appropriate terms. 13.    Repayment terms for non-nuclear power plant a) For non-nuclear power plant, the maximum repayment term shall be 12 years. If a Participant intends to support a repayment term longer than that provided for in Article 12, the Participant shall give prior notification in accordance with the procedure in Article 45. b) Non-nuclear power plant are complete power stations, or parts thereof, not fuelled by nuclear power; they include all components, equipment, materials, and services (including the training of personnel) directly required for the construction and commissioning of such non-nuclear power stations. This does not include items for which the buyer is usually responsible, e.g. costs associated with land development, roads, construction villages, power lines, and switchyard and water supply; as well as costs arising from official approval procedures (e.g. site permits, fuel loading permits) in the buyer's country, except: 1. in cases where the buyer of the switchyard is the same as the buyer of the power plant, the maximum repayment term for the original switchyard shall be the same as that for the non-nuclear power plant (i.e. 12 years); and 2. the maximum repayment term for sub-stations, transformers and transmission lines with a minimum voltage threshold of 100 kV shall be the same as that for the non-nuclear power plant. 14.    Repayment of principal and payment of interest a) The principal sum of an export credit shall be repaid in equal instalments. b) Principal shall be repaid and interest shall be paid no less frequently than every 6 months and the first instalment of principal and interest shall be made no later than 6 months after the starting point of credit. c) For export credits provided in support of lease transactions, equal repayments of principal and interest combined may be applied in lieu of equal repayments of principal as set out in paragraph a). d) On an exceptional and duly justified basis, export credits may be provided on terms other than those set out in a) through c) above. The provision of such support shall be explained by an imbalance in the timing of the funds available to the obligor and the debt service profile available under an equal, semi-annual repayment schedule, and shall comply with the following criteria: 1. No single repayment of principal or series of principal payments within a 6-month period shall exceed 25 per cent of the principal sum of the credit. 2. Principal shall be repaid no less frequently than every 12 months. The first repayment of principal shall be made no later than 12 months after the starting point of credit and no less than 2 per cent of the principal sum of the credit shall have been repaid 12 months after the starting point of credit. 3. Interest shall be paid no less frequently than every 12 months and the first interest payment shall be made no later than 6 months after the starting point of credit. 4. The maximum weighted average life of the repayment period shall not exceed: — for transactions with sovereign buyers (or with a sovereign repayment guarantee), 4½ years for transactions in Category I Countries and 5¼ years for Category II Countries, — for transactions with non-sovereign buyers (and with no sovereign repayment guarantee), 5 years for Category I Countries and 6 years for Category II Countries, — notwithstanding the provisions set out in the two previous tirets, for transactions involving support for non-nuclear power plants according to Article 13, 6¼ years. 5. The Participant shall give prior notification in accordance with Article 45 that explains the reason for not providing support according to paragraphs a) through c). e) Interest due after the starting point of credit shall not be capitalised 15.    Interest rates, premium rates and other fees a) Interest excludes: 1. any payment by way of premium or other charge for insuring or guaranteeing supplier credits or financial credits; 2. any payment by way of banking fees or commissions relating to the export credit other than annual or semi-annual bank charges that are payable throughout the repayment period; and 3. withholding taxes imposed by the importing country. b) Where official support is provided by means of direct credits/financing or refinancing, the premium either may be added to the face value of the interest rate or may be a separate charge; both components are to be specified separately to the Participants. 16.    Validity period for export credits Financial terms and conditions for an individual export credit or line of credit, other than the validity period for Commercial Interest Reference Rates (CIRRs) set out in Article 21, shall not be fixed for a period exceeding 6 months prior to final commitment. 17.    Action to avoid or minimise losses The Arrangement does not prevent export credit authorities or financing institutions from agreeing to less restrictive financial terms and conditions than those provided for by the Arrangement, if such action is taken after the contract award (when the export credit agreement and ancillary documents have already become effective) and is intended solely to avoid or minimise losses from events which could give rise to non-payment or claims. 18.    Matching Taking into account a Participant's international obligations and consistent with the purpose of the Arrangement, a Participant may match, according to the procedures set out in Article 42, financial terms and conditions offered by a Participant or a non-Participant. Financial terms and conditions provided in accordance with this Article are considered to be in conformity with the provisions of Chapter I and II and, when applicable, Annexes I, II, III, IV and X. 19.    Minimum fixed interest rates under official financing support a) The Participants providing official financing support for fixed rate loans shall apply the relevant Commercial Interest Reference Rates (CIRRs) as minimum interest rates. CIRRs are interest rates established according to the following principles: 1. CIRRs should represent final commercial lending interest rates in the domestic market of the currency concerned; 2. CIRRs should closely correspond to the rate for first-class domestic borrowers; 3. CIRRs should be based on the funding cost of fixed interest-rate finance; 4. CIRRs should not distort domestic competitive conditions; and 5. CIRRs should closely correspond to a rate available to first-class foreign borrowers. b) The provision of official financing support shall not offset or compensate, in part or in full, for the appropriate credit risk premium to be charged for the risk of non-repayment pursuant to the provisions of Article 23. 20.    Construction of CIRRs a) Each Participant wishing to establish a CIRR shall initially select one of the following two base-rate systems for its national currency: 1. 3-year government bond yields for a repayment term of up to and including 5 years; 5-year government bond yields for over 5 and up to and including 8½ years; and 7-year government bond yields for over 8½ years; or 2. 5-year government bond yields for all maturities. Exceptions to the base rate system shall be agreed by the Participants. b) CIRRs shall be set at a fixed margin of 100 basis points above each Participant's base rate unless Participants have agreed otherwise. c) Other Participants shall use the CIRR set for a particular currency should they decide to finance in that currency. d) A Participant may change its base-rate system after giving 6 months' advance notice and with the counsel of the Participants. e) A Participant or a non-Participant may request that a CIRR be established for the currency of a non-Participant. In consultation with the interested non-Participant, a Participant or the Secretariat on behalf of that non-Participant may make a proposal for the construction of the CIRR in that currency using Common Line procedures in accordance with Articles 55 to 60. 21.    Validity of CIRRs The interest rate applying to a transaction shall not be fixed for a period longer than 120 days. A margin of 20 basis points shall be added to the CIRR if the terms and conditions of the official financing support are fixed before the contract date. 22.    Application of CIRRs a) Where official financing support is provided for floating rate loans, banks and other financing institutions shall not be allowed to offer the option of the lower of either the CIRR (at time of the original contract) or the short-term market rate throughout the life of the loan. b) In the event of a voluntary, early repayment of a loan of or any portion thereof, the borrower shall compensate the government institution providing official financing support for all costs and losses incurred as a result of such early repayment, including the cost to the government institution of replacing the part of the fixed rate cash inflow interrupted by the early repayment. 23.    Premium for credit risk The Participants shall charge premium, in addition to interest charges, to cover the risk of non-repayment of export credits. The premium rates charged by the Participants shall be risk-based, shall converge and shall not be inadequate to cover long-term operating costs and losses. 24.    Minimum premium rates for country and sovereign credit risk The Participants shall charge no less than the applicable Minimum Premium Rate (MPR) for Country and Sovereign Credit Risk, irrespective of whether the buyer/borrower is a private or public entity. a) The applicable MPR is determined according to the following factors: — the applicable country risk classification as set out in Article 25, — whether official export credit cover is strictly limited to country risk as defined in Article 25 a), — the time at risk (i.e. the Horizon of Risk or HOR), — the percentage of cover and quality of official export credit product provided as set out in Article 27, and — any country risk mitigation/exclusion technique applied as set out in Article 28. b) MPRs are expressed in percentages of the principal value of the credit as if premium were collected in full at the date of the first drawdown of the credit. An explanation of the mathematical formula used to calculate the MPRs is provided in Annex VI. c) For countries classified in Category 0 as set out in Article 25, no MPRs have been established but the Participants shall not charge premium rates which undercut available private market pricing. d) The ‘highest risk’ countries in Category 7 shall, in principle, be subject to premium rates in excess of the MPRs established for that Category; these premium rates shall be determined by the Participant providing official support. e) In calculating the MPR for a transaction, the applicable country risk classification to be applied shall be the classification of the buyer's country, unless: — security in the form of an irrevocable, unconditional, on-demand, legally valid and enforceable guarantee of the total debt repayment obligation for the entire duration of the credit is provided by an entity, creditworthy in relation to the size of the guaranteed debt, in a third country, in which case the applicable Country Risk Classification may be that of the country in which the guarantor is located, or — a Multilateral or Regional Institution as set out in Article 26 is acting either as borrower or guarantor for the transaction, in which case the applicable Country Risk Classification may be that of the specific Multilateral or Regional Institution involved. f) The criteria and conditions relating to the application of a country risk classification according to the situations described in the first and second tirets of Article 24 e) are set out in Annex VII. g) If official support is strictly limited to country risk as defined in Article 25 a), i.e. cover of buyer/borrower risk is completely excluded, the MPR is reduced by 10 per cent; this is captured by the mathematical formula used to calculate the MPRs in Annex VI. h) The HOR convention used in the calculation of an MPR is one-half of the disbursement period plus the entire repayment period and assumes a regular export credit repayment profile, i.e. repayment in equal semi-annual instalments of principal plus accrued interest beginning 6 months after the starting point of credit. For export credits with non-standard repayment profiles, the equivalent repayment period (expressed in terms of equal, semi-annual instalments) is calculated using the following formula: equivalent repayment period = (average weighted life of the repayment period - 0,25)/0,5. i) The Participant applying the MPR in the case referred to in the first tiret of paragraph e) above that leads to a premium rate below the MPR applicable to the buyer's country shall give prior notification according to Article 44 a). The Participant applying the MPR in the case referred to in the second tiret of Article 24 e) or in Article 24 g) shall give prior notification in accordance with Article 45 a). 25.    Country risk classification Countries shall be classified according to the likelihood of whether they will service their external debts (i.e. country credit risk). a) The five elements of country credit risk are: — general moratorium on repayments decreed by the buyer's/borrower's/guarantor's government or by that agency of a country through which repayment is effected, — political events and/or economic difficulties arising outside the country of the notifying Participant or legislative/administrative measures taken outside the country of the notifying Participant which prevent or delay the transfer of funds paid in respect of the credit, — legal provisions adopted in the buyer's/borrower's country declaring repayments made in local currency to be a valid discharge of the debt, notwithstanding that, as a result of fluctuations in exchange rates, such repayments, when converted into the currency of the credit, no longer cover the amount of the debt at the date of the transfer of funds, — any other measure or decision of the government of a foreign country which prevents repayment under a credit, and — cases of force majeure occurring outside the country of the notifying Participant, i.e. war (including civil war), expropriation, revolution, riot, civil disturbances, cyclones, floods, earthquakes, eruptions, tidal waves and nuclear accidents. b) Countries are classified into one of eight Country Risk Categories (0-7). MPRs have been established for Categories 1 through 7, but not for Category 0, as the level of country risk is considered to be negligible for countries in this Category. c) High Income OECD Countries, as defined by the World Bank on an annual basis according to per capita GNI, are classified in Category 0. — For the purposes of the MPRs, any OECD country classified in Category 0 by virtue of its High Income status shall remain classified in Category 0 until it falls below the High Income GNI threshold for 2 consecutive years, at which time the country's classification should be reviewed according to Article 25 d) to f). — Any OECD country above the High Income threshold for 2 consecutive years shall be classified, by definition, in Category 0. Such classification shall take effect immediately after the Secretariat has communicated a country's status as determined by the World Bank. — Other countries deemed to be of a similar risk level may also be classified in Category 0. d) All countries other than High Income OECD Countries  ( 3 ) are classified through the Country Risk Classification Methodology, which is comprised of: — The Country Risk Assessment Model (the Model), which produces a quantitative assessment of country credit risk which is based, for each country, on three groups of risk indicators: the payment experience of the Participants, the financial situation and the economic situation. The methodology of the Model consists of different steps including the assessment of the three groups of risk indicators, and the combination and flexible weighting of the risk indicator groups. — The qualitative assessment of the Model results, considered country-by-country to integrate the political risk and/or other risk factors not taken into account in full or in part by the Model. If appropriate, this may lead to an adjustment to the quantitative Model assessment to reflect the final assessment of the country credit risk. e) Country Risk Classifications shall be monitored on an ongoing basis and reviewed at least annually and changes resulting from the Country Risk Classification Methodology shall be immediately communicated by the Secretariat. When a country is reclassified in a lower or higher Country Risk Category, the Participants shall, no later than 5 working days after the reclassification has been communicated by the Secretariat, charge premium rates at or above the MPRs associated with the new Country Risk Category. f) The applicable country risk classifications shall be made public by the Secretariat. 26.    Classification of multilateral and regional institutions Multilateral and Regional Institutions shall be classified and reviewed as appropriate; such applicable classifications shall be made public by the Secretariat. 27.    Percentage and quality of official export credit cover The MPRs are differentiated to take account of the differing quality of export credit products and percentage of cover provided by the Participants as set out in Annex VI. The differentiation is based on the exporter's perspective (i.e. to neutralise the competitive effect arising from the differing qualities of product provided to the exporter/financial institution). a) The quality of an export credit product is a function of whether the product is insurance, guarantee or direct credit/financing, and for insurance products whether cover of interest during the claims waiting period (i.e. the period between the due date of payment by the buyer/borrower and the date that the insurer is liable to reimburse the exporter/financial institution) is provided without a surcharge. b) All existing export credit products offered by the Participants shall be classified into one of the three product categories which are: — below standard product, i.e. insurance without cover of interest during the claims waiting period and insurance with cover of interest during the claims waiting period with an appropriate premium surcharge, — standard product, i.e. insurance with cover of interest during the claims waiting period without an appropriate premium surcharge and direct credit/financing, and — above standard product, i.e. guarantees. 28.    Exclusion of selected country risk elements and country risk mitigation techniques The Participants may, in accordance with the specific criteria and conditions set out in Annex VIII, exclude certain elements of country risk or use defined country risk mitigation techniques listed in Article 28 b) resulting in lower applicable MPRs through the application of a Country Risk Mitigation/Exclusion Factor (MEF) in the MPR formula. The MEF is determined as follows: a) With respect to the exclusion of selected country credit risk elements from official export credit cover: — in situations where only the first three country credit risk elements, as set forth in Article 25 a), are excluded in their totality from cover, a MEF of 0,5 may be applied, — in situations where only the fourth and fifth country credit risk elements, as set forth in Article 25 a), are excluded in their totality from cover, a MEF of 0,2 may be applied. b) With respect to the following country risk mitigation techniques, the applicable MPR as well as the criteria and conditions under which the MEF may be applied are set out in Annex VIII: — Offshore Future Flow Structure Combined with Offshore Escrow Account, — Offshore Hard Security, — Offshore Asset-Based Security, — Offshore Asset-Secured and Asset-Based Financing, — Co-financing with International Financial Institutions (IFIs), — Local Currency Financing, — Third Country Insurance or Conditional Guarantee, — Debtor Representing a Better Risk Than the Sovereign. c) The application of more than one of the country risk mitigation techniques described in Article 28 b) shall not have a direct cumulative impact on the applicable MEF. The selection of an appropriate MEF to reflect the combination of country risk mitigation techniques shall take into account the possible overlapping impact of two or more techniques on identical country credit risks. In the case of overlapping, only the best quality security shall normally be considered in determining the appropriate, applicable MEF. d) The Participant applying the MPR in the cases referred to in Article 28 a) to c) shall give prior notification according to Article 44 a). e) The list of country risk mitigation techniques in Article 28 b) is not intended to be a closed list; in accordance with Article 66, the Participants shall monitor and review the body of experience with the use of these techniques including the applicable criteria, conditions, circumstances and MEFs set forth in Annex VIII. 29.    Review of the validity of the minimum premium rates for country and sovereign credit risk a) To assess the adequacy of MPRs and to allow, if necessary, for adjustments, either upwards or downwards, three Premium Feedback Tools (PFTs) shall be used in parallel to monitor and adjust the MPRs. b) The Cash Flow PFT and the Accruals PFT are accounting approaches that assess the validity of the MPRs on an aggregate, Country Risk Category and Horizon of Risk basis according to the Participants' actual results in relation to the country and sovereign credit risk of export credits subject to the MPRs. c) The third PFT is comprised of four sets of Private Market Indicators  ( 4 ) which provide information on market's pricing of country and sovereign credit risk. CHAPTER III PROVISIONS FOR TIED AID 30.    General principles a) The Participants have agreed to have complementary policies for export credits and tied aid. Export credit policies should be based on open competition and the free play of market forces. Tied aid policies should provide needed external resources to countries, sectors or projects with little or no access to market financing. Tied aid policies should ensure best value for money, minimise trade distortion, and contribute to developmentally effective use of these resources. b) The tied aid provisions of the Arrangement do not apply to the aid programmes of multilateral or regional institutions. c) These principles do not prejudge the views of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) on the quality of tied and untied aid. d) A Participant may request additional information relevant to the tying status of any form of aid. If there is uncertainty as to whether a certain financing practice falls within the scope of the definition of tied aid set out in Annex XI, the donor country shall furnish evidence in support of any claim to the effect that the aid is in fact ‘untied’ in accordance with the definition in Annex XI. 31.    Forms of tied aid Tied aid can take the form of: a) Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans as defined in the ‘DAC Guiding Principles for Associated Financing and Tied and Partially Untied Official Development Assistance (1987)’; b) ODA grants as defined in the ‘DAC Guiding Principles for Associated Financing and Tied and Partially Untied Official Development Assistance (1987)’; and c) Other Official Flows (OOF), which includes grants and loans but excludes officially supported export credits that are in conformity with the Arrangement; or d) any association, e.g. mixture, in law or in fact, within the control of the donor, the lender or the borrower involving two or more of the preceding, and/or the following financing components: 1. an export credit that is officially supported by way of direct credit/financing, refinancing, interest rate support, guarantee or insurance to which the Arrangement applies; and 2. other funds at or near market terms, or down payment from the purchaser. 32.    Associated financing a) Associated financing may take various forms including mixed credits, mixed financing, joint financing, parallel financing or single integrated transactions. The main characteristics are that they all feature: — a concessional component that is linked in law or in fact to the non-concessional component, — either a single part or all of the financing package that is, in effect, tied aid, and — concessional funds those are available only if the linked non-concessional component is accepted by the recipient. b) Association or linkage ‘in fact’ is determined by such factors as: — the existence of informal understandings between the recipient and the donor authorities, — the intention by the donor to facilitate the acceptability of a financing package through the use of ODA, — the effective tying of the whole financing package to procurement in the donor country, — the tying status of ODA and the means of tendering for or contracting of each financing transaction, or — any other practice, identified by the DAC or the Participants in which a de facto liaison exists between two or more financing components. c) The following practices shall not prevent the determination of an association or linkage ‘in fact’: — contract splitting through the separate notification of the component parts of one contract, — splitting of contracts financed in several stages, — non-notification of interdependent parts of a contract, and/or — non-notification because part of the financing package is untied. 33.    Country eligibility for tied aid a) There shall be no tied aid to countries which, according to their per capita GNI, are ineligible for 17-year loans from the World Bank. The World Bank recalculates the threshold for this Category on an annual basis  ( 5 ) . A country will be reclassified only after its World Bank category has been unchanged for 2 consecutive years. b) The following operational criteria and procedures apply when classifying countries: 1. Classification for Arrangement purposes is determined by per capita GNI as calculated by the World Bank for the purposes of the World Bank classification of borrowing countries; this classification shall be made public by the Secretariat. 2. In cases where the World Bank does not have enough information to publish per capita GNI data, the World Bank shall be asked to estimate whether the country in question has per capita GNI above or below the current threshold. The country shall be classified according to the estimate unless the Participants decide to act otherwise. 3. If a country's eligibility for tied aid does change in accordance with Article 33 a), the reclassification shall take effect 2 weeks after the conclusions drawn from the abovementioned World Bank data have been communicated to all Participants by the Secretariat. Before the effective date of reclassification, no tied aid financing for a newly eligible country may be notified; after that date, no tied aid financing for a newly promoted country may be notified, except that individual transactions covered under a prior committed credit line may be notified until the expiry of the credit line (which shall be no more than 1 year from the effective date). 4. In cases where the World Bank revises figures such revisions shall be disregarded in relation to the Arrangement. Nevertheless, the classification of a country may be changed by way of a Common Line, in accordance with the appropriate procedures in Articles 55 to 60, and the Participants would favourably consider a change due to errors and omissions in the figures subsequently recognised in the same calendar year as the figures that were first distributed by the Secretariat. 5. Notwithstanding the classifications of countries ineligible or eligible to receive tied aid, the Participants should avoid providing any tied aid credit, other than outright grants, food and humanitarian aid as well as aid designed to mitigate the effects of nuclear or major industrial accidents or to prevent their occurrence, for Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Should the per capita GNI of any of these countries exceed, for 3 consecutive years, the World Bank's threshold for ineligibility for 17-year loans, country eligibility for such credits would be subject to Article 33 a) and b) 1) to 4) above, as well as all other tied aid provisions of the Arrangement  ( 6 ) . 34.    Project eligibility a) Tied aid shall not be extended to public or private projects that normally should be commercially viable if financed on market or Arrangement terms. b) The key tests for such aid eligibility are: — whether the project is financially non-viable, i.e. does the project lack capacity with appropriate pricing determined on market principles, to generate cash flow sufficient to cover the project's operating costs and to service the capital employed, i.e. the first key test, or — whether it is reasonable to conclude, based on communication with other Participants, that it is unlikely that the project can be financed on market or Arrangement terms, i.e. the second key test. In respect of projects larger than 50 million SDRs special weight shall be given to the expected availability of financing at market or Arrangement terms when considering the appropriateness of such aid. c) The key tests under subparagraph b) above are intended to describe how a project should be evaluated to determine whether it should be financed with such aid or with export credits on market or Arrangement terms. Through the consultation process described in Articles 48 to 50, a body of experience is expected to develop over time that will more precisely define, for both export credit and aid agencies, ex-ante guidance as to the line between the two categories of projects. 35.    Minimum concessionality level The Participants shall not provide tied aid that has a concessionality level of less than 35 per cent, or 50 per cent if the beneficiary country is a Least Developed Country (LDC), except for the cases set out below, which are also exempt from the notification procedures set out in Article 47 a): a) technical assistance: tied aid where the official development aid component consists solely of technical cooperation that is less than either 3 per cent of the total value of the transaction or one million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), whichever is lower; and b) small projects: capital projects of less than one million SDRs that are funded entirely by development assistance grants. 36.    Exemptions from country or project eligibility for tied aid a) The provisions of Articles 33 and 34 do not apply to tied aid where the concessionality level is 80 per cent or more except for tied aid that forms part of an associated financing package, described in Article 32. b) The provisions of Article 34 do not apply to tied aid with a value of less than two million SDRs except for tied aid that forms part of an associated financing package, described in Article 32. c) Tied aid for LDCs as defined by the United Nations is not subject to the provisions of Articles 33 and 34. d) Notwithstanding Articles 33 and 34, a Participant may, exceptionally, provide support by one of the following means: — the Common Line procedure as defined in Annex XI and described in Articles 55 to 60, or — justification on aid grounds through support by a substantial body of the Participants as described in Articles 48 and 49, or — a letter to the OECD Secretary-General, in accordance with the procedures in Article 50, which the Participants expect will be unusual and infrequent. 37.    Calculation of concessionality level of tied aid The concessionality level of tied aid is calculated using the same method as for the grant element used by the DAC, except that: a) The discount rate used to calculate the concessionality level of a loan in a given currency, i.e. the Differentiated Discount Rate (DDR), is subject to annual change on 15 January and is calculated as follows: — The average of the CIRR + Margin, Margin (M) depends on the repayment term (R) as follows: R M less than 15 years 0,75 from 15 years up to, but not including, 20 years 1,00 from 20 years up to, but not including, 30 years 1,15 from 30 years and above 1,25 — For all currencies the average of the CIRR is calculated taking an average of the monthly CIRRs valid during the 6-month period between 15 August of the previous year and 14 February of the current year. The calculated rate, including the Margin, is rounded to the nearest ten basis points. If there is more than one CIRR for the currency, the CIRR for the longest maturity as set out in Article 20 a), shall be used for this calculation. b) The base date for the calculation of the concessionality level is the starting point of credit as set out in Annex XI. c) For the purpose of calculating the overall concessionality level of an associated financing package, the concessionality levels of the following credits, funds and payments are considered to be zero: — export credits that are in conformity with the Arrangement, — other funds at or near market rates, — other official funds with a concessionality level of less than the minimum permitted pursuant to Article 35 except in cases of matching, and — down payment from the purchaser. Payments on or before the starting point of credit that are not considered down payment shall be included in the calculation of the concessionality level. d) The discount rate in matching: in matching aid, identical matching means matching with an identical concessionality level that is recalculated with the discount rate in force at the time of matching. e) Local costs and third country procurement shall be included in the calculation of concessionality level only if they are financed by the donor country. f) The overall concessionality level of a package is determined by multiplying the nominal value of each component of the package by the respective concessionality level of each component, adding the results, and dividing this total by the aggregate nominal value of the components. g) The discount rate for a given aid loan is the rate in effect at the time of notification. However, in cases of prompt notification, the discount rate is the one in effect at the time when the terms and conditions of the aid loan were fixed. A change in the discount rate during the life of a loan does not change its concessionality level. h) If a change of currency is made before the contract is concluded, the notification shall be revised. The discount rate used to calculate the concessionality level will be the one applicable at the date of revision. A revision is not necessary if the alternative currency and all the necessary information for calculation of the concessionality level are indicated in the original notification. i) Notwithstanding subparagraph g), the discount rate used to calculate the concessionality level of individual transactions initiated under an aid credit line shall be the rate that was originally notified for the credit line. 38.    Validity period for tied aid a) The Participants shall not fix terms and conditions for tied aid, whether this relates to the financing of individual transactions or to an aid protocol, an aid credit line or to a similar agreement, for more than 2 years. In the case of an aid protocol, an aid credit line or similar agreement, the validity period shall commence at the date of its signature, to be notified in accordance with Article 47; the extension of a credit line shall be notified as if it were a new transaction with a note explaining that it is an extension and that it is renewed at terms allowed at the time of the notification of the extension. In the case of individual transactions, including those notified under an aid protocol, an aid credit line or similar agreement, the validity period shall commence at the date of notification of the commitment in accordance with Article 46 or 47, as appropriate. b) When a country has become ineligible for 17-year World Bank Loans for the first time, the validity period of existing and new tied aid protocols and credit lines notified shall be restricted to 1 year after the date of the potential reclassification in accordance with procedures in Article 33 b). c) Renewal of such protocols and credit lines is possible only on terms which are in accordance with the provisions of Articles 33 and 34 of the Arrangement following: — reclassification of countries, and — a change in the provisions of the Arrangement. In these circumstances, the existing terms and conditions can be maintained notwithstanding a change in the discount rate set out in Article 37. 39.    Matching Taking into account a Participant's international obligations and consistent with the purpose of the Arrangement, a Participant may match, according to the procedures set out in Article 42, financial terms and conditions offered by a Participant or a non-Participant. CHAPTER IV PROCEDURES Section 1:     Common procedures for export credits and trade-related aid 40.    Notifications The notifications set out by the procedures in the Arrangement shall be made in accordance with, and include the information contained in, Annex V and shall be copied to the Secretariat. 41.    Information on official support a) As soon as a Participant commits the official support which it has notified in accordance with the procedures in Articles 44 to 47, it shall inform all other Participants accordingly by including the notification reference number on the relevant Creditor Reporting System (CRS) Form 1C. b) In an exchange of information in accordance with Articles 52 to 54, a Participant shall inform the other Participants of the credit terms and conditions that it envisages supporting for a particular transaction and may request similar information from the other Participants. 42.    Procedures for matching a) Before matching financial terms and conditions assumed to be offered by a Participant or a non-Participant pursuant to Articles 18 and 39, a Participant shall make every reasonable effort, including as appropriate by use of the face-to-face consultations described in Article 54, to verify that these terms and conditions are officially supported and shall comply with the following: 1. The Participant shall notify all other Participants of the terms and conditions it intends to support following the same notification procedures required for the matched terms and conditions. In the case of matching a non-Participant, the matching Participant shall follow the same notification procedures that would have been required had the matched terms been offered by a Participant. 2. Notwithstanding 1) above, if the applicable notification procedure would require the matching Participant to withhold its commitment beyond the final bid closing date, then the matching Participant shall give notice of its intention to match as early as possible. 3. If the initiating Participant moderates or withdraws its intention to support the notified terms and conditions, it shall immediately inform all other Participants accordingly. b) A Participant intending to offer identical financial terms and conditions to those notified according to Articles 44 and 45 may do so once the waiting period stipulated therein has expired. This Participant shall give notification of its intention as early as possible. 43.    Special consultations a) A Participant that has reasonable grounds to believe that financial terms and conditions offered by another Participant (‘the initiating Participant’) are more generous than those provided for in the Arrangement shall inform the Secretariat; the Secretariat shall immediately make available such information. b) The initiating Participant shall clarify the financial terms and conditions of its offer within 2 working days following the issue of the information from the Secretariat. c) Following clarification by the initiating Participant, any Participant may request that a special consultation meeting of the Participants be organised by the Secretariat within 5 working days to discuss the issue. d) Pending the outcome of the special consultation meeting of the Participants, financial terms and conditions benefiting from official support shall not become effective. Section 2:     Procedures for export credits 44.    Prior notification with discussion a) A Participant shall notify all other Participants at least 10 calendar days before issuing any commitment if the Minimum Premium Rate applied has been determined according to the first tiret of Article 24 e) or Article 28 in accordance with Annex V to the Arrangement. If any other Participant requests a discussion during this period, the initiating Participant shall wait an additional 10 calendar days. If the applicable MPR after risk mitigation/exclusion is less than or equal to 75 per cent of the MPR which would result from the application of the buyer country's country risk classification without any risk mitigation or exclusion, the notifying Participant shall notify all other Participants at least 20 calendar days before issuing any commitment. b) A Participant shall inform all other Participants of its final decision following a discussion to facilitate the review of the body of experience in Accordance with Article 66. The Participants shall maintain records of their experience with regard to premium rates notified in accordance with paragraph a) above. 45.    Prior notification without discussion a) A Participant shall notify all other Participants at least 10 calendar days before issuing any commitment in accordance with Annex V to the Arrangement if it intends: 1. to support a repayment term of more than 5 but not exceeding 8½ years to a Category I Country; 2. to provide support for a non-nuclear power plant with a repayment term longer than the relevant maximum in Article 12, but not exceeding 12 years as stipulated in Article 13 a); 3. to provide support according to Article 14 d); 4. to apply a premium rate in accordance with the second tiret of Article 24 e); 5. to apply a premium rate in accordance with Article 24 g). b) If the initiating Participant moderates or withdraws its intention to provide support for such transaction, it shall immediately inform all other Participants. Section 3:     Procedures for trade-related aid 46.    Prior notification a) A Participant shall give prior notification if it intends to provide official support for: — trade-related untied aid with a value of two million SDRs or more, and a concessionality level of less than 80 per cent, — trade-related untied aid with a value of less than two million SDRs and a grant element (as defined by the DAC) of less than 50 per cent, — trade-related tied aid with a value of two million SDRs or more and a concessionality level of less than 80 per cent, or — trade-related tied aid with a value of less than two million SDRs and a concessionality level of less than 50 per cent, except for the cases set out in Article 35 a) and b). b) Prior notification shall be made at the latest 30 working days before the bid closing or commitment date, whichever is the earlier. c) If the initiating Participant moderates or withdraws its intention to support the notified terms and conditions, it shall immediately inform all other Participants accordingly. d) The provision of this Article shall apply to tied aid that forms part of an associated financing package, as described in Article 32. 47.    Prompt notification a) A Participant shall promptly notify all other Participants, i.e. within 2 working days of the commitment, if it provides official support for tied aid with a value of either: — two million SDRs or more and a concessionality level of 80 per cent or more, or — less than two million SDRs and a concessionality level of 50 per cent or more except for the cases set out in Article 35 a) and b). b) A Participant shall also promptly notify all other Participants when an aid protocol, credit line or similar agreement is signed. c) Prior notification need not be given if a Participant intends to match financial terms and conditions that were subject to a prompt notification. Section 4:     Consultation procedures for tied aid 48.    Purpose of consultations a) A Participant seeking clarification about possible trade motivation for tied aid may request that a full Aid Quality Assessment (detailed in Annex IX) be supplied. b) Furthermore, a Participant may request consultations with other Participants, in accordance with Article 49. These include face-to-face consultations as outlined in Article 54 in order to discuss: — first, whether an aid offer meets the requirements of Articles 33 and 34, and — if necessary, whether an aid offer is justified even if the requirements of Articles 33 and 34 are not met. 49.    Scope and timing of consultations a) During consultations, a Participant may request, among other items, the following information: — the assessment of a detailed feasibility study/project appraisal, — whether there is a competing offer with non-concessional or aid financing, — the expectation of the project generating or saving foreign currency, — whether there is cooperation with multilateral organisations such as the World Bank, — the presence of International Competitive Bidding (ICB), in particular if the donor country's supplier is the lowest evaluated bid, — the environmental implications, — any private sector participation, and — the timing of the notifications (e.g. 6 months prior to bid closing or commitment date) of concessional or aid credits. b) The consultation shall be completed and the findings on both questions in Article 48 notified by the Secretariat to all Participants at least 10 working days before the bid closing date or commitment date, whichever comes first. If there is disagreement among the consulting parties, the Secretariat shall invite other Participants to express their views within 5 working days. It shall report these views to the notifying Participant, which should reconsider going forward if there appears to be no substantial support for an aid offer. 50.    Outcome of consultations a) A donor which wishes to proceed with a project despite the lack of substantial support shall provide prior notification of its intentions to other Participants, no later than 60 calendar days after the completion of the Consultation, i.e. acceptance of the Chairman's conclusion. The donor shall also write a letter to the Secretary-General of the OECD outlining the results of the consultations and explaining the overriding non-trade related national interest that forces this action. The Participants expect that such an occurrence will be unusual and infrequent. b) The donor shall immediately notify the Participants that it has sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the OECD, a copy of which shall be included with the notification. Neither the donor nor any other Participant shall make a tied aid commitment until 10 working days after this notification to Participants has been issued. For projects for which competing commercial offers were identified during the consultation process, the aforementioned 10-working day period shall be extended to 15 days. c) The Secretariat shall monitor the progress and results of consultations. Section 5:     Information exchange for export credits and trade-related aid 51.    Contact points All communications shall be made between the designated contact points in each country by means of instant communication, e.g. OLIS, and shall be treated in confidence. 52.    Scope of enquiries a) A Participant may ask another Participant about the attitude it takes with respect to a third country, an institution in a third country or a particular method of doing business. b) A Participant which has received an application for official support may address an enquiry to another Participant, giving the most favourable credit terms and conditions that the enquiring Participant would be willing to support. c) If an enquiry is made to more than one Participant, it shall contain a list of addressees. d) A copy of all enquiries shall be sent to the Secretariat. 53.    Scope of responses a) The Participant to which an enquiry is addressed shall respond within 7 calendar days and provide as much information as possible. The reply shall include the best indication that the Participant can give of the decision it is likely to take. If necessary, the full reply shall follow as soon as possible. Copies shall be sent to the other addressees of the enquiry and to the Secretariat. b) If an answer to an enquiry subsequently becomes invalid for any reason, because for example: — an application has been made, changed or withdrawn, or — other terms are being considered, a reply shall be made without delay and copied to all other addressees of the enquiry and to the Secretariat. 54.    Face-to-face consultations a) A Participant shall agree within 10 working days to requests for face-to-face consultations. b) A request for face-to-face consultations shall be made available to Participants and non-Participants. The consultations shall take place as soon as possible after the expiry of the 10-working day period. c) The Chairman of the Participants shall coordinate with the Secretariat on any necessary follow-up action, e.g. a Common Line. The Secretariat shall promptly make available the outcome of the consultation. 55.    Procedures and format of common lines a) Common Line proposals are addressed only to the Secretariat. A proposal for a Common Line shall be sent to all Participants and, where tied aid is involved, all DAC contact points by the Secretariat. The identity of the initiator is not revealed on the Common Line Register on the Bulletin Board of the OLIS. However, the Secretariat may orally reveal the identity of the initiator to a Participant or DAC member on demand. The Secretariat shall keep a record of such requests. b) The Common Line proposal shall be dated and shall be in the following format: — reference number, followed by ‘Common Line’, — name of the importing country and buyer, — name or description of the project as precise as possible to clearly identify the project, — terms and conditions foreseen by the initiating country, — Common Line proposal, — nationality and names of known competing bidders, — commercial and financial bid closing date and tender number to the extent it is known, — other relevant information, including reasons for proposing the Common Line, availability of studies of the project and/or special circumstances. c) A Common Line proposal put forward in accordance with Article 33 b) 4) shall be addressed to the Secretariat and copied to other Participants. The Participant making the Common Line proposal shall provide a full explanation of the reasons why it considers that the classification of a country should differ from the procedure set out in Article 33 b). d) The Secretariat shall make publicly available the agreed Common Lines. 56.    Responses to common line proposals a) Responses shall be made within 20 calendar days, although the Participants are encouraged to respond to a Common Line proposal as quickly as possible. b) A response may be a request for additional information, acceptance, and rejection, a proposal for modification of the Common Line or an alternative Common Line proposal. c) A Participant which advises that it has no position because it has not been approached by an exporter, or by the authorities in the recipient country in case of aid for the project, shall be deemed to have accepted the Common Line proposal. 57.    Acceptance of common lines a) After a period of 20 calendar days, the Secretariat shall inform all Participants of the status of the Common Line proposal. If not all Participants have accepted the Common Line, but no Participant has rejected it, the proposal shall be left open for a further period of 8 calendar days. b) After this further period, a Participant which has not explicitly rejected the Common Line proposal shall be deemed to have accepted the Common Line. Nevertheless, a Participant, including the initiating Participant, may make its acceptance of the Common Line conditional on the explicit acceptance by one or more Participants. c) If a Participant does not accept one or more elements of a Common Line it implicitly accepts all other elements of the Common Line. It is understood that such a partial acceptance may lead other Participants to change their attitude towards a proposed Common Line. All Participants are free to offer or match terms and conditions not covered by a Common Line. d) A Common Line which has not been accepted may be reconsidered using the procedures in Articles 55 and 56. In these circumstances, the Participants are not bound by their original decision. 58.    Disagreement on common lines If the initiating Participant and a Participant which has proposed a modification or alternative cannot agree on a Common Line within the additional 8-calendar day period, this period can be extended by their mutual consent. The Secretariat shall inform all Participants of any such extension. 59.    Effective date of common line The Secretariat shall inform all Participants either that the Common Line will go into effect or that it has been rejected; the Common Line will take effect 3 calendar days after this announcement. The Secretariat shall make available on OLIS a permanently updated record of all Common Lines which have been agreed or are undecided. 60.    Validity of common lines a) A Common Line, once agreed, shall be valid for a period of 2 years from its effective date, unless the Secretariat is informed that it is no longer of interest, and that this is accepted by all Participants. A Common Line shall remain valid for a further 2-year period if a Participant seeks an extension within 14 calendar days of the original date of expiry. Subsequent extensions may be agreed through the same procedure. A Common Line agreed in accordance with Article 33 b) 4) shall be valid until World Bank data for the following year is available. b) The Secretariat shall monitor the status of Common Lines and shall keep the Participants informed accordingly, through the maintenance of the listing ‘The Status of Valid Common Lines’ on OLIS. Accordingly, the Secretariat, inter alia, shall: — add new Common Lines when these have been accepted by the Participants, — update the expiry date when a Participant requests an extension, — delete Common Lines which have expired, — issue, on a quarterly basis, a list of Common Lines due to expire in the following quarter. Section 6:     Operational provisions for the communication of minimum interest rates (CIRRs) 61.    Communication of minimum interest rates a) CIRRs for currencies that are determined according to the provisions of Article 20 shall be sent by means of instant communication at least monthly to the Secretariat for circulation to all Participants. b) Such notification shall reach the Secretariat no later than 5 days after the end of each month covered by this information. The Secretariat shall then inform immediately all Participants of the applicable rates and make them publicly available. 62.    Effective date for application of interest rates Any changes in the CIRRs shall enter into effect on the 15th day after the end of each month. 63.    Immediate changes in interest rates When market developments require the notification of an amendment to a CIRR during the course of a month, the amended rate shall be implemented 10 days after notification of this amendment has been received by the Secretariat. Section 7:     Reviews 64.    Regular review of the arrangement a) The Participants shall review regularly the functioning of the Arrangement. In the review, the Participants shall examine, inter alia, notification procedures, implementation and operation of the DDR system, rules and procedures on tied aid, questions of matching, prior commitments and possibilities of wider participation in the Arrangement. b) This review shall be based on information of the Participants' experience and on their suggestions for improving the operation and efficacy of the Arrangement. The Participants shall take into account the objectives of the Arrangement and the prevailing economic and monetary situation. The information and suggestions that Participants wish to put forward for this review shall reach the Secretariat no later than 45 calendar days before the date of review. 65.    Review of minimum interest rates a) The Participants shall periodically review the system for setting CIRRs in order to ensure that the notified rates reflect current market conditions and meet the aims underlying the establishment of the rates in operation. Such reviews shall also cover the margin to be added when these rates are applied. b) A Participant may submit to the Chairman of the Participants a substantiated request for an extraordinary review in case this Participant considers that the CIRR for one or more than one currency no longer reflect current market conditions. 66.    Review of minimum premium rates and related issues The Participants shall regularly monitor and review all aspects of the premium rules and procedures. This shall include: a) the methodology for the Country Risk Assessment Model to review its validity in the light of experience; b) the Minimum Premium Rates for country and sovereign credit risk to adjust them over time to ensure that they remain an accurate measure of risk, taking into account the three PFTs: the cash flow and accruals approaches and, where appropriate, private market indicators; c) the differentiations in the MPRs which take account of the differing quality of export credit products and percentage of cover provided; and d) the body of experience related to the use of risk mitigation and/or exclusion as set out in Article 28 and the continued validity and appropriateness of the specific allowable Risk Mitigation/Exclusion Factors. To assist the review the Secretariat shall provide reports of all notifications. ( 1 )   As defined in Article 5 of the OECD Convention. ( 2 )   Based on the annual review by the World Bank of its country classification, a per capita Gross National Income (GNI) threshold will be used for the purpose of classification of country category; such threshold is available on the OECD website (www.oecd.org/ech/xcred). ( 3 )   For administrative purposes, some countries that do not generally receive officially supported export credits may not be classified. ( 4 )   The Private Market Indicators are: sovereign bonds, read-across method, forfeit market and syndicated loan. ( 5 )   Based on the annual review by the World Bank of its country classification, a per capita Gross National Income (GNI) threshold will be used for the purpose of tied aid eligibility; such threshold is available on the OECD website (www.oecd.org/ech/xcred). ( 6 )   For the purpose of Article 33 b) 5), the de-commissioning of nuclear power plant can be regarded as humanitarian aid. In case of nuclear or major industrial accident that causes serious transfrontier pollution, any affected Participant may provide tied aid to eliminate or mitigate its effects. In case of significant risk that such an accident may occur, any potentially affected Participant intending to provide aid to prevent its occurrence shall give prior notification in accordance with Article 46. Other Participants shall give favourable consideration to an acceleration of tied aid procedures in line with the specific circumstances.