Activities of José Manuel FERNANDES related to 2021/2076(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Borrowing strategy to finance NextGenerationEU (debate)
Borrowing strategy to finance NextGenerationEU (debate)
Reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of the borrowing strategy to finance NextGenerationEU, the Union’s recovery instrument
Amendments (20)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas, under the Own Resources Decision, the Commission is to regularly and comprehensively inform the Parliament and Council about all aspects of its debt management strategy, including an issuance calendar with expected issuance dates and volumes for the forthcoming year, and a plan setting out the expected principal and interest payments;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas the total amount programmed for the European Union Recovery Instrument, payment of periodic coupon and redemption at maturity (EURI repayment costs) is set at EUR 14,7 billion over the period 2021-2027;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Rationale behindof borrowing for NextGenerationEU
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that the success of the borrowing strategy will be judged by its ability to raise the funds necessary for the implementation of NGEU on the capital markets in a timely and relatively low-cost manner, and to repay the debt by 2058 according to a smoothly and predictablye profile and without crowding out established programme expenditure under the MFF ceilings; stresses that that the Union’s issuance should not upset borrowing conditions for other European issuers and should even play a positive role on capital markets, notably by meeting investors’ demand for eEuro-denominated assets and for new products such as green bonds;
Amendment 16 #
4. Notes that the Commission has developed and put in place a new and large funding programme and built up its debt management capacities swiftly and efficiently; welcomes the fact that first issuances took place at a steady pace in 2021 and 2022 and were all heavily oversubscribed, revealing strong investor interest and enabling the Commission to meet its funding targets; notes with satisfaction that, consistent with its AAA- rating, EU products have been traded at attractive interest rates that are at par with other large European and supranational issuers;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Notes the Commission’s choice to rely on a large Primary Dealers’ Network (PDN), which are important partners in ensuring well-functioning primary and secondary markets and reporting to the Commission on market conditions; calls on the Commission to ensure that banks meet their legal requirements and to seek a better geographical balance both in the PDN membership and in the leadership of syndicated transactions; calls on the Commission to make sure that sufficient incentives and obligations are in place for PDN members to play their role;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Observes that, in line with the annual borrowing decision and the Semi- annual funding plans, the Commission has raised, as of June 2022, more than EUR 113 billion, of which EUR 23 billion in the form of green bonds and composed of bonds with short, medium and long term maturities, on the financial markets; takes good note of the information provided concerning the distribution of investor type and distribution ‘by geography”; calls for continued transparent communication about the progress of the bond auctions and syndications;
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Potential positive effects and challenges of NextGenerationEU borrowing
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that, by making the Union one of largest bond issuers in Europe, NGEU can have a positive impact on the stability and liquidity of EU capital markets and canimprove the EU economic outlook, complement the macroeconomic architecture of the Euro area and strengthen the international role of the eEuro; notes, however, that NGEU is legally limited in size and in time and would have the potential to play even more influential role as safe assets and serve for integration of EU financial markets and resilience of the EU if lessons are properly taken;
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes the high demand for a smooth integration of the EU’s debt on capital markets; calls on the Commission to consolidate the standing of EU debt by diversifying the investor profile, stimulating secondary markets and removing technical obstacles, such as the ECB’s purchase limitations and higher haircut applied to EU bonds over national sovereign bonds within its collateral framework;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights, in particular, that the Union could set benchmarks for sustainable investment as the largest global issuer of green bonds, as well as by diversifying its investor base and securing lower borrowing costs; welcomes that the Green Bond framework used by the Commission observes high sustainability standards and urges the Commission to avoid any‘greenwashing’, in order to act as a catalyst in the green transition;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Notes that, despite its scale, NGEU has so far successfully mitigated the risk of crowding out demand for other European sovereign bonds; emphasises that, by making the Euro area sovereign market more attractive especially to non- EU investors, NGEU issuance maybe impacting positively on demand for securities issued by other European market players; invites the Commission to continue coordinating closely with Member State debt agencies and with the ECB, the EIB and the ESM;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Argues further that NGEU is having a positive impact on the attractiveness and sustainability of Member State debts, by offering AAA- rated borrowing conditions to all Member States through RRF loans, having a significant lowering effect on sovereign yields and by discounting grants from the calculation of national debt as well as by conveying a strong message to financial markets about the resilience and cohesion of the Euro area and the EU;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Asks the Commission to develop a mechanism allowing EU citizens to buy EU bonds directly in a simple and transparent manner; notes that this practice already exists in several EU member states; believes that the economic benefits would be relevant and outweigh the implementation costs; considers that this opportunity could increase the sense of belonging to the EU;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes with concern the steeply rising inflation interest rates that affect sovereign issuers; cautions that the costs of funding have increased significantly due to the challenging market conditions; anticipates that this will affect the EURI repayment line in the EU budget; acknowledges that the Commission evolves in a very uncertain market, outside of the 99% confidence interval; recalls that all payments of financial contributions to Member States should be made by 31 December 2026, as established under the EURI and RRF Regulations, but changes to this deadline could be made; underlines that such change requires changes to both the RRF and EURI regulations;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Considers that NGEU can only unfold its full potential if all national Recovery and Resilience Plans are implemented in a timely and effective way; is concerned by the lack of financial absorption capacity by several Member States; regrets the dynamic triggered in some Member States where implementation of traditional EU funds is delayed in order to absorb more quickly the RRF funds; encourages Member States to make full use of the loans provided under NGEU in a coherent manner;
Amendment 56 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that further investments in EU policies will be necessary to strengthen EU competitiveness and strategic autonomy, in particular regarding industry and climate action; considers that permanent redeployments are a not a viable long-term solution for financing EU priorities and underlines the need for additional proper means for the EU budget in the form of fresh money; considers, in this regard, that NGEU is a good example of a viable architecture for funding above the MFF ceilings;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Recalls its firm demand to place the budgetary appropriations for the EURI repayment costs outside the expenditure ceilings of the MFF, in order to safeguard the margins and flexibility mechanisms for their intended purposes; asks to make the pertinent modifications in the MFF regulation in the context of the MFF midterm review/revision;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Firmly believes that the ultimate success of NGEU, and in particular the credibility and sustainability of its financing, will also be assessed against the Union’s ability to repay the common debt with new own resources in the environmental and corporate sector, rather than with increased gross national income- based contributions from the Member States;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)