On 5 October 2023, the European Parliament finally adopted and approved an EU regulation on European Green Bonds. After the first draft of the EU Commission was published on 6 July 2021 and a political agreement regarding some amendment proposals was subsequently reached in February 2023, the approval of the EU Parliament now marks another milestone towards the final adoption of an EU-wide standard for green bonds.
The EU Green Bond Standard (“EuGB standard”) is a voluntary standard allowing all issuers – both inside and outside the EU – who meet the requirements of the proposal to use the label “European green bond”. Issuers are supposed to use their proceeds in a taxonomy-compliant manner and be fully transparent about this before the issue as well as during the term of the bond.
The EU regulation on European green bonds, which was finally passed and adopted by the EU Parliament, is provisional and still has to be confirmed and adopted by the Council of the European Union. Only then will it become final and be published in the Official Journal of the EU. The final regulation will finally enter into force 20 days after its publication and is to be applied in practice twelve months thereafter.
We will inform you about the more detailed requirements of the regulation for European green bonds after adoption by the EU Parliament in our new GSK Update.
