Answer given by Mr Hahn on behalf of the European Commission

The Commission chose the Luxembourg Stock Exchange for the listing of its bonds since Luxembourg is a leading European location for the listing of international bonds (as reflected in number of listings as well as issuance volumes), familiar to global investors.

Luxembourg Stock Exchange is a common listing venue for the issuance of public international bodies, sovereigns and agencies. Other large European institutions such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) or the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) also use the Luxembourg Stock Exchange for the listing of their bonds.

The Commission has listed all of its issuances under its financial assistance programmes (European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, Macro-Financial Assistance and more recently the European instrument for temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency SURE) at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

The Commission intends to continue its primary issuance of bonds under its existing debt issuance programme established under Luxembourgish law and the listing of its bonds on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

This is without prejudice to a possible listing of its bonds on other stock exchanges in the future, if the Commission considers this advantageous for the implementation of its borrowing operations.