EU to borrow around 150 bn euros annually for recovery fund

The European Commission plans to borrow around 150 billion euros annually until 2026 to finance the bloc's unprecedented plan to make its economy greener and more digitalised, making it the biggest issuer in euros, a document from the Commission showed.

The financing for the EU economic plan, agreed at 750 billion euros in 2018 prices, but totalling around 800 billion euros at current prices, would be through auctions and syndication through a primary deal network to enable regular payouts to EU governments as they complete agreed stages of projects and reforms.

The Commission document said the EU executive arm would issue bonds with benchmark maturities of 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 years and bills below one year maturity – EU-Bills.

The Commission will start borrowing for the scheme as soon as all 27 EU national parliaments ratify the EU's Own Resources Decision - a law raising guarantees from EU governments to the EU budget to 2.0 per cent of GNI from 1.4 per cent GNI until 2058.

The ratification of the law is necessary because the guarantee of the EU budget will enable the EU to borrow at the lowest possible rates on the market.

It is only a backstop measure because the repayment of the borrowing is supposed to come from new taxes the EU is to agree on over the coming years, rather than from national budgets.