(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is selling more social bonds, a test for the robustness of demand at a time when investors are turning away from government debt.

The bloc is expected to open orderbooks for a sale of 15-year debt via banks Tuesday, with the proceeds set to help fund a jobs program in the region. Bidding for its first issue smashed records last year and a syndication in January also saw strong demand. Yet since then global bonds have suffered a sharp selloff given fears of a pick-up in inflation.

That’s led to weaker demand at sovereign auctions, including for U.S. Treasuries and at a sale of similar-maturity debt from Germany. Still, an Italian sale of green debt bucked the trend last week, racking up the biggest-ever orderbook for such bonds, showing the market for assets tied to ethical goals may be more resilient.

The EU, as a triple-A rated borrower, may also have its own appeal. The sales for its 100-billion-euro ($119 billion) SURE social bond program are just a taster ahead of financing for its 800-billion-euro pandemic recovery fund, with the debt seen as a potential future rival asset to U.S. Treasuries.

“There is strong appetite for its name out there,” said Piet Christiansen, chief strategist at Danske Bank A/S, who sees the bloc raising as much as 10 billion euros, and following up with another sale by the end of the month. UBS Group AG expects eight million euros.

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DZ Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, NatWest Markets, Toronto-Dominion Bank and UniCredit SpA Were appointed as joint lead managers. The EU’s sale of 15-year bonds in November attracted over 114 billion euros of demand.

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