The new loan was introduced to the market on Monday at a negative interest rate. The Grand Duchy thus became the first country to sign a sustainable loan. A day later on Tuesday, Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna provided further insight into the measure to the MPs on the financial and budgetary commission.
However, the opposition declared the move a further burden on the national debt, a concern voiced by MP Gilles Roth (CSV), who stated that the sum had increased by €6 billion over the past six months. Commission president André Bauler (DP) rejected this criticism, noting that the introduction of sustainable loans was already announced during the presentation of the 2020 budget: "The initiative was accepted prior to the beginning of the outbreak and is a separate issue."
The loan expands over 12 years with a negative interest of -0.12%, proving investors' commitment to the idea and the trust in the government's financial power. Meanwhile, Roth explained that the loan still needed to be reimbursed at some point. Bauler announced that minister Gramegna would therefore provide further details on the concept of the initiative in October during the governmental budget deposition.
