Brussels, 11 December 2024
The EU Commission intends to issue up to €90 billion of EU Bonds in the first half of 2025 (H1), from January to June 2025. The Commission’s funding plan for H1 2025 continues the 2024 issuance programme, during which the EU raised €138 billion in long-term funds.
Funds raised by the European Commission through EU-Bond issuances continue to drive the EU’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, strengthen the resilience of its economy, and support the EU’s neighbouring partners, notably Ukraine and the Western Balkans.These wide-ranging borrowing operations will strengthen the EU Bond market while guaranteeing continuous support to policies funded through EU-Bond issuances.
Besides long-term funding operations, the Commission will continue issuing short-term EU-Bills to complement its financial operations.2024 marked the highest annual issuance volume ever executed by the EU, in line with the announced planning. Additionally, in 2024, the EU became the fifth largest issuer of green bonds globally with over €68 billion outstanding in NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bonds, and is now on track to become the largest global green bond issuer.
The recently published NGEU Green Bond Impact and Allocation report confirmed the EU’s role as a global leader in sustainable finance. As demonstrated in the report, the full implementation of green investments financed through NGEU Green Bonds could result in a reduction of 55 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU annually, equivalent to 1.5% of all GHG emissions.For 2025 as whole, the Commission anticipates issuing approximately €160 billion in EU Bonds, ensuring consistent support for its borrowing-based programmes.
Background
On the basis of mandates under several borrowing programs, the Commission borrows funds on international capital markets on behalf of the EU and disburses them to Member States and third countries. Under the EU Treaties, all Member States are legally obligated to contribute to the EU budget, which guarantees EU borrowing.Instead of issuing bonds for specific programs with separate labels, in 2023 the Commission began issuing EU-Bonds under a single brand (unified funding approach).
The allocation of proceeds from these single-branded bonds is based on processes outlined in the applicable agreements for the relevant programs.The outstanding stock of EU-Bonds now stands at over €580 billion, with more than €420 billion under the EU’s unified funding approach. The successful execution of EU issuances has been greatly aided by the growing market acceptance of EU-Bonds as large, liquid, and high-quality assets. In October 2024, the EU took another significant step to support the market ecosystem for EU-Bonds and secondary market liquidity with the opening of the repurchase (repo) facility, which helps EU Primary Dealers post prices in EU-Bonds in support of their liquidity.
By early December 2024, a total of almost €330 billion of funds raised from borrowing operations have been disbursed under the NGEU programme. 2024 also saw borrowing operations financing Ukraine under the Ukraine Facility (over €10 billion of funds were disbursed until 2024), as well as the approval of an exceptional Macro-Financial assistance (MFA) loan by Member States within the agreement with G7 partners. Additionally, new policies funded via the issuance of EU-Bonds were agreed upon to support candidate States under the Western Balkan Investment Facility and neighbouring countries (such as Egypt and Jordan).
The EU has also continued issuing EU-Bills on a regular basis, with maturities of three and six months, complementing long-term borrowing activities. The amount of short-term debt now stands at €25.3 billion.While new net debt issuance for the largest borrowing-based programme – NGEU – will conclude by the end of 2026, the combination of refinancing maturing debt and bond-financing for other policies, will ensure a strong EU market presence in the foreseeable future. The Commission will also continue issuing NGEU Green Bonds, which currently total €68 billion, to fund the green component of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
More information
Quote(s)
The publication of the Funding Plan for the first half of 2025 underscores the critical role of EU borrowing in advancing EU priorities. These operations have become essential for enabling swift responses to emerging priorities and challenges. This highly efficient tool has consistently demonstrated its benefits for both EU Member States and our neighbourhood.
Source – EU Commission