The European Commission welcomes today’s political agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the new Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), with a total budget of over € 14 billion, for the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework period.
This instrument supports candidate countries and potential candidates on their way to meeting the admission criteria in European Union through deep and comprehensive reforms. Today’s agreement will now be translated into legal texts, which will have to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council.
“This long-awaited agreement on our ambitious funding assistance is a positive, welcome and strong signal for the Western Balkans and Turkey. The agreed package is a sustainable investment in the future of the enlargement region and the EU, supporting the implementation of key political, institutional, social and economic reforms to comply with EU standards and progressively comply with the rules and its policies. It will provide funding for the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, a key tool to support the region’s economic recovery with priority. Through investments in key sectors including connectivity, infrastructure, environment and climate, as well as energy and digital, this will increase convergence with the EU and bring tangible benefits to citizens. – said the Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi.
Compared to IPA I and IPA II, the new instrument will provide support to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey with a total budget of € 14.162 billion at current prices for 2021 -2027, starting retroactively from 1 January 2021.
IPA III presents a solid policy-driven approach, with strategic and dynamic deployment of assistance, laying the “foundations” at its core: focusing on the rule of law and respect for core values; strengthening democratic institutions and public administration reform; promoting economic governance and reforms towards competition.
The new instrument will increase direction from the Union, as its programming is based on thematic priorities rather than country envelopes. This allows rewarding performance and progress towards key priorities and increasing the flexibility to respond to the evolving needs of partners on their path to membership.
Background and next steps
EU pre-accession funds are a sound investment in the future for both the enlargement countries and the EU itself. The objective of this instrument is to support beneficiaries in the adoption and implementation of political, institutional, legal, administrative, social and economic reforms required to fulfill the rights and obligations of membership in the Union, thus contributing to their stability, security and prosperity. . These reforms must provide their citizens with better opportunities and allow the development of standards equal to those enjoyed by EU citizens. Pre-accession funds also help the EU achieve its objectives of sustainable economic recovery, energy supply, transport, environment and climate change, and digital transformation.
The political agreement reached today is a balanced agreement that addresses the last open elements of the negotiations, mainly regarding the governance of the new instrument and the possibility of modulating aid. This political agreement will now be translated into a legal text, before the two institutions begin the confirmation process to formally approve IPA III. Approval of the instrument is expected in the fall. Once approved, IPA III will be implemented by adopting a Programming Framework for the period 2021-2027, which will provide the strategic framework and programming priorities for the financial implementation of actions.
