‘Project bonds’ launched as an experiment | EurActiv

‘Project bonds’ launched as an experiment | EurActiv

In the absence of an agreement for launching Eurobonds, the EU institutions agreed yesterday (22 May) to launch the first ‘project bonds’ as a pilot project to boost investment in energy, transport and the digital economy.

If successful, the pilot could be rolled out at a much bigger scale in the 2014-2020 EU budget.

The EU will set aside €230 million in guarantees to support the issuance of project bonds for infrastructure under a deal concluded by MEPs and EU governments in Strasbourg.  

Germany said it would remain firm in its opposition to Eurobonds at today’s EU summit, but has given its blessing to prepare the smaller-scale project bonds.

The European Commission, which tabled the proposal in February, says that by combining the project bonds with guarantees from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the €230 million could be multiplied by three. If other lenders chipped into projects, the amount of money raised could reach €4.6 billion.