[Interview] “EU bonds are AAA-grade safe assets…Bond investment to strengthen EU-RoK relations” - Piotr Serafin, EU Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Corruption and Public Administration
On 7 September 2026, Piotr Serafin, EU Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Corruption and Public Administration said during an interview with Maeil Busienss as part of his visit to Seoul "EU bonds maintain the highest credit rating of AAA. It's so stable that some say investment in EU bonds is "boring", but it has a great advantage for long-term institutional investors who have to strictly manage their risks." adding that Korean institutional investors need to pay attention to EU bonds as a means of diversifying their portfolios.
Read the interview on Maeil Business : (Article in Korean only - translation below) https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/12150475
“EU bonds are AAA-grade safe assets…Bond investment to strengthen EU-RoK relations”
Reported by KIM Je-kwan on 11 September, 2026
Interview with EU Commissioner Piotr Serafin
- The 5th largest Euro-denominated bond issuance in Europe
- Has the effect of diversifying investment across Europe, not just investing in one country
- Stability is a great advantage for long-term institutional investors
"EU bonds maintain the highest credit rating of AAA. It's so stable that some say investment in EU bonds is "boring", but it has a great advantage for long-term institutional investors who have to strictly manage their risks."
In an interview with Mail Business Newspaper on the 7th, European Union (EU) Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Corruption and Public Administration Piotr Serafin said that Korean institutional investors need to pay attention to EU bonds as a means of diversifying their portfolios.
It is relatively recent that the EU has emerged as a large issuer in the global bond market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Member States agreed that joint financing was needed to respond to a common crisis, and a full-fledged large-scale bond issuance began in 2021. Since then, the use of procurement funds has been expanded to include digital and green transformation, support for Ukraine, strengthening security, and economic support for neighbouring countries.
The size of the issuance has also grown rapidly. "The EU has now grown to be the fifth-largest issuer of euro-denominated bonds in Europe after France, Spain, Germany, and Italy," Serafin said. "The liquidity and trading infrastructure have also developed rapidly, so there is de-facto no difference from ordinary government bonds".
He cited safety and profitability as strengths of EU bonds. He explained that EU bonds provide more attractive returns than German government bonds (Bunds), which have the same AAA grade, while maintaining the highest credit rating of AAA.
He also emphasised safeguards that support the creditworthiness of EU bonds. "The EU’s annual budget of about 200 billion euros is the basis for bond repayment, and there is also a 'headroom' that can be used in an emergency" Serafin said. The headroom refers to the room between the spending limit of the EU budget and the self-financing limit that can be secured from member states, and is a device that can require additional financial contributions from member states if necessary. "There is a clear reason why EU bonds maintain the AAA rating" he stressed.
For Korean institutional investors, he pointed out that being able to invest in “the entire Europe” while lowering the risk of concentration in individual countries are strengths of EU bonds. “It is attractive to investors who want to diversify their portfolio centred on dollar assets to the euro or those who want to avoid the risk of concentration on certain governments while investing in Europe" he said. "EU bonds can have the effect of diversifying investments across Europe, not in a specific country".
Serafin stressed that South Korea's investment in EU bonds goes beyond investment in financial products and has the meaning of strengthening bilateral relations. Bond has the meaning of a financial product, but 'bond and solidarity' at the same time he said. "The combination of mutual investment and capital is a powerful means of further strengthening the economic solidarity between Korea and the EU". "In a situation where rule-based international order and global stability are threatened, cooperation with partners who share values like Korea is more important than ever" he stressed.