Article 1

A Guarantee Fund (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Fund’) shall be established, the resources of which shall be used to repay the Communities’ creditors in the event of default by the beneficiary of a loan granted or guaranteed by the Communities or of a loan guarantee issued by the European Investment Bank (hereinafter referred to as the ‘EIB’) for which the Communities provide a guarantee.

The lending and guarantee operations referred to in the first paragraph (hereinafter referred to as operations) shall be those carried out for the benefit of a third country or for the purpose of financing projects in third countries.

All operations carried out for the benefit of a third country or for the purpose of financing projects in a third country shall fall outside the scope of this Regulation, with effect from the date on which that country accedes to the European Union.