Postponing pandemic fund repayment raises legal questions but makes ‘economic sense’, Sofia’s deputy PM tells Euractiv
The EU should seek to postpone repayments of hundreds of billions of euros’ worth of pandemic-era debt, Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister has said, arguing that a rollover would help the euro compete internationally with the US dollar and bolster the bloc’s next long-term budget.
Atanas Pekanov told Euractiv that rolling over the €637 billion in ‘NextGenerationEU’ debt, which is set to be repaid from 2028, makes “economic sense” given the strong demand for Eurobonds and increasing concerns about the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
Agreed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, NextGenerationEU provides EU capitals with growth-boosting grants and loans in exchange for targeted reforms. It is the largest-ever programme financed entirely by joint EU borrowing and will expire later this year.
“I totally support rolling over the debt, in terms of economic sense,” said Pekanov, a trained economist who assumed his country’s deputy premiership for the third time in May this year.
