OHCHR Internship Programme 20

survey , inviting the EU tourism community to share information about their individual and collective commitments and to express interest in working together on the implementation of the transition. The Commission will be working with the interested stakeholders to steer, support and follow up the progress of the transition.

Background

The development of the Transition Pathway for Tourism started in June 2021 with a stakeholders' consultation on scenarios for the ecosystem transition. Several workshops and stakeholder meetings were held to further brainstorm and elaborate on the proposals. This Transition Pathway is the first one delivered as part of a broader action announced in the Industrial Strategy Update, published on 5 May 2021, where the Commission called for industrial ecosystems to accelerate the green and digital transformation and increase the resilience of the European economy. It initiated the principle of the co-creation of transition pathways with stakeholders, as an essential collaborative tool for the green and digital transformation of industrial ecosystems. Currently the Commission is working on the co-creation of pathways for the mobility, construction, energy-intensive industries and proximity and social economy ecosystems. The Transition Pathway for Tourism also contributes to the request of the European Council in its conclusions of 27 May 2021 that invite “the Commission and Member States, in participation with relevant stakeholders, to design a European Agenda for Tourism”. The Transition Pathway for Tourism addresses the requests outlined above and paves the way for a forward-looking transition and long-term resilience for the tourism ecosystem, towards 2030 and beyond.

9. NextGenerationEU: additional €5 billion in support for Europe's recovery

In its first bond syndication of 2022, the European Commission has raised a further €5 billion in NextGenerationEU funds on behalf of the EU in yet another successful deal.

Due on 6 July 2051, the 30-year bond – executed as an increase to an existing EU-Bond - brings the total financing raised under the programme to €78.5 billion. The Commission's successful placement will help sustain the momentum behind Europe's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bond was nearly 13 times oversubscribed, achieving a total order book of €64.1 billion. This strong demand enabled the Commission to place the bond under very good pricing conditions in a sign of the strong confidence of investors in the NextGenerationEU programme. The Commission complemented this issuance with a further €2.2 billion, 5-year bond to fund back-to-back loans to Portugal under the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM). Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, said: “This deal reflects the strength of the EU as an issuer. We executed a benchmark transaction on advantageous terms which is an excellent result. On this basis, the Commission will continue supporting Member States in their efforts to soften the blow of the pandemic and rebuild their economies on a more digital and sustainable foundation.” Using funds already raised under NextGenerationEU, the Commission has financed some €67 billion in Recovery and Resilience Facility payments to a number of Member States. As of endDecember 2021, over €7 billion has further been allocated in support of other EU programmes key to Europe's successful navigation of the digital and green transitions. This deal is the sixth syndicated transaction the Commission has executed under NextGenerationEU. Added to the €2.5 billion raised for the programme via bond auction in January, the deal takes the Commission to €7.5 billion of its €50 billion funding target for the first six months of 2022. As laid out in its issuance calendar for the first half of the year, the Commission intends to execute a further four syndicated transactions between March and June 2022. Syndicated transactions will be complemented by further monthly EU-bond auctions. Short-term funding will also continue to be raised in two EU-bills auctions per month, giving the Commission additional flexibility to meet its payment needs.

Background

NextGenerationEU is a temporary instrument bringing more than €800 billion in support to Europe's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and building a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe. To finance NextGenerationEU, the Commission will borrow around €800 billion