EU borrowing increased eightfold over five years, reaching €739 billion at the beginning of 2026.

Omissions

• The precise figure (€738.9 billion) is the outstanding EU borrowing at the END of 2025, as reported in the European Court of Auditors' 2025 annual report; the MEP presents it as 'the beginning of this year' (2026), a minor temporal imprecision.
• The auditors described the increase as 'almost eightfold' in five years, whereas the MEP states a full 'eightfold' increase (åttadubbling) — a slight rounding up.
• Both secondary sources reporting the figure (Euronews and EU Perspectives) derive from the same underlying European Court of Auditors report, so they are not fully independent corroborations.
• The very large multiple is measured from a low pre-2020 base: large-scale EU borrowing only began with NextGenerationEU in 2021, which amplifies the growth ratio.
• The figure reflects cumulative outstanding (stock) debt raised largely to finance NextGenerationEU, not a single year's borrowing.

Sources

• AcademicBruegelOf the approximately €400 billion in outstanding EU debt as of May 2023, 85 percent has arisen from borrowing since 2020. Large-scale borrowing...
• SecondaryEuronewsOutstanding EU borrowing jumped by more than 20% to €738.9 billion last year and could reach €1 trillion by 2027, the auditors said, largely...
• SecondaryEU PerspectivesEU debt grew almost eightfold in five years to €739bn and could hit €1tn by 2027, auditors warn. Interest costs run far above plans.