European Commission to issue €75 billion in long-term EU-Bonds in the first half of 2024

The Commission has announced its intention to issue up to €75 billion of EU-Bonds in the first half of 2024 (H1). As in 2023, it will raise these long-term funds under its unified funding approach, using single-branded EU-Bonds. The Commission will also continue to complement its long-term funding operations with issuance of short-term EU-Bills. The funds raised will be used primarily to meet payments related to NextGenerationEU and notably the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The Commission’s funding plan for H1 2024 builds on a strong year of funding transactions in 2023: in total, the Commission raised €115.9 billion in long-term funds over the course of the year. This included NextGenerationEU (NGEU) Green Bond issuances of €12.5 billion, which brought the total amount of NGEU Green Bonds outstanding to €48.9 billion. 2024 will also mark the launch of the European Issuance Service (EIS) in January. The EIS will enable new EU debt securities to be settled in the same way as the securities of large EU sovereign issuers.

The Commission borrows on international capital markets on behalf of the EU and disburses the funds to Member States and third countries under various borrowing programmes. EU borrowing is guaranteed by the EU budget, and contributions to the EU budget are an unconditional legal obligation of all Member States under the EU Treaties.