The European Union on Tuesday kicks off its 750 billion euro pandemic recovery package with an initial 10 billion euro bond issue, according to France’s junior minister for European affairs, Clement Beaune.
In an interview with French financial daily Les Echos, Beaune also said that more than 100 billion euros would be injected into the European economy from this year.
Beaune said the European Commission would launch the debt issuance process on Tuesday by calling on big European and international banks, and the securities would be issued later in June.
“The market appetite should be very major and the interest rates very favourable,” he told Les Echos.
Asked whether the new bonds would be called corona-bonds, he said “let’s avoid this radioactive term”, and added that with the recovery package an embryonic European Union treasury was taking shape.
Proceeds of the issue would be spent from July onwards and by the end of the year Europe will inject more than 100 billion euros into its economy to finance the recovery of its member states, he said.
Asked about a G7 initiative for a minimum corporate tax rate of 15%, he said that within the European Union, Ireland was the most hostile to the principle of a minimum tax and taxation of internet companies, and to a lesser degree Cyprus and Malta.
He added that the Netherlands was not opposed to the principle but will be demanding about its implementation.
(Reuters)
