Report highlights include:
EU Member States, the UK and the EU Commission issued EUR 1,220 bn in bonds and bills throughout 2Q26, which represents an increase of 10.4% (YoY) compared to 2Q25, and a decrease of 2.0% (QoQ) compared to 1Q26.
Second-highest average trading volumes on record in European (EU+UK) government bonds during Q2 2026, according to MarketAxess TraX, with trading increasing 3% (YoY) and decreasing 7% (QoQ).
Outstanding amount of European ESG government bonds reached EUR 657.1 bn during 2Q26. Volumes were driven by new green bonds issued by the France (EUR 10.0 bn), Ireland (EUR 2.0bn) and a new sustainable bond issued by Latvia (EUR 1.0bn). Green volumes were further supported by tap issuance by Germany (EUR 5.1bn), the UK (EUR 3.8bn), France (EUR 3.0bn), Denmark (EUR 0.5 bn) and the European Commission (EUR 3.9bn).
During 2Q26 there was 1 long-term credit rating upgrades for European countries and 2 downgrades. This follows 3 upgrades and no downgrades in 1Q26, bringing the 2026 year-to-date total to 7 upgrades and 3 downgrades (there were 3 further upgrades and 1 downgrade in 3Q26 to date).
There were 4 entries and 3 exits in European primary dealerships from March 2026 to September 2026 with a net change of +1. Changes in primary dealership affected sovereign debt markets in Hungary, the UK, Poland, Spain and the EU Primary Dealer Network (EU PDN).
The average bid-cover ratio (demand/amount allocated) was 2.48 in 2Q26, an increase of 1.4% (QoQ) from 1Q26 and a decrease of 5.8% from 2Q25 (YoY).
