BRUSSELS: The European Commission has raised €20 billion ($24.2 billion) through a 10-year bond as part of its plans to finance the 27-nation bloc’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the inaugural transaction of the NextGeneration EU program is the largest ever institutional bond issuance in Europe. The money will help finance the national recovery plans devised by member states to get their economies back on track.
Von der Leyen said the bond was priced at “very attractive terms” and that the European Union will pay less than 0.1% interest on it.
“Europe is attractive,” she said. “By the end of this year, we expect to have issued around 100 billion in bonds and bills.”
To finance the stimulus, the EU’s executive arm said it will raise from capital markets up to an estimated €800 billion by the end of 2026. In total, member states have agreed on a 1.8 trillion-euro budget and pandemic recovery package.