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The EU Agenda 2024-2027 for the Balkans strengthens the conditions for the disbursement of funds

2023-12-22 07:35:17, Ekonomi CNA

The EU Agenda 2024-2027 for the Balkans strengthens the conditions for the

The European Commission has approved a new growth agenda for the economies of the Western Balkans in the period 2024-2027 with funding of around 6 billion euros, but a detailed material from the Commission states that obtaining the funds will be against some strict conditions for the countries .

The countries of the Balkans, in the accession process where Albania is also a part, will be able to receive the money only after reaching some quantitative indicators.

According to the European Commission, the Reform Agenda will identify a limited group of priority reforms which will serve as payment conditions, that is, upon their achievement, the funds will be disbursed according to a predetermined deadline.

The Commission clarifies that payment conditions will be linked to specific socio-economic reforms to advance growth potential and specific reforms related to the foundations of the enlargement process, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for human rights and freedoms basic.

Macroeconomic stability, sound management of public finances, transparency and budget supervision will be the conditions for withdrawing funds from the EU, which must be met for any disbursement of funds.

Another prerequisite is that Serbia and Kosovo engage constructively in the normalization of their relations in order to fully implement all their respective obligations arising from all Dialogue Agreements.

It is about 6 billion for the period 2024-2027, where up to 2 billion euros are grants and up to 4 billion euros are loans or capital investment financing through the Investment and Credit Framework for the Western Balkans (WBIF).

The European Commission noted that a strong conditionality will be introduced from the creation of a payment mechanism based on the achievements of key reforms taking into account the recommendations from the Commission's latest Enlargement Package.

The EC document estimates that there will be stricter rules for IPA funds. But Albania is already penalized by a part of them, as the funds from the IPARD Programs that the European Union has given to increase competition in the agricultural sector have been blocked.

The funding freeze includes an amount of 112 million euros that the EU approved for IPARD III, which would be implemented during the period 2021-2027. With all the co-financing of the Albanian government, IPARD III was 146 million euros, which agriculture, the largest sector in the country, may lack.

In the IPARD III funds, 8 million euros were programmed to be disbursed in Albania in 2021, 10 million euros in 2022, about 12 million euros this year, 16 million in 2024, about 19 million more in 2025, while 25 million were programmed in 2026 and the last installment of 24 million euros in 2027./ Monitor.al