The Council of the European Union has approved a package of emergency macro-financial assistance for 10 countries in the framework of the neighborhood and expansion policy. According to the decision taken on Wednesday, may 20, the volume of the loan package is 3 billion euros, the press service of the EU Council reported. The need for assistance is caused by the COVID-19 atypical pneumonia pandemic.

Which countries will receive EU loans

The largest loan is provided for Ukraine-1.2 billion euros. In second place, Tunisia - 600 million euros. Two other countries that are part of the EU's Eastern partnership program - Georgia (150 million euros) and Moldova (100 million euros), as well as the countries of the Western Balkans, with the exception of Serbia, will receive assistance from the EU.

Minsk also asked Brussels for macro-financial assistance due to the spread of the coronavirus. The European Commission said that they are ready to provide it, but they are waiting for an agreement between Belarus and the IMF.

What will the EU's macro-financial assistance do?

Macro-financial assistance is loans on favorable terms provided by the EU to neighboring countries to support their balance of payments. The maximum loan repayment period is 15 years. In the EU, the need for such assistance is explained by the fact that international trade has declined due to the pandemic, and capital has begun to avoid emerging markets. This has put a sharp strain on the balance of payments of many countries.

Since the provision of macro-financial assistance is an anti-crisis measure, this program will be valid for one year, not 2.5 years, as usual. The first tranche of the EU will be ready to pay immediately after the signing of the Memorandum of understanding between the European Commission and the governments of the recipient States. "The second tranche will be allocated as soon as the conditions set out in the Memorandum are met," the European Commission's proposal for an emergency macro - financial assistance program says.

The conditions for the granting of EU aid

These conditions will be different for each of the ten countries. The document States that they are aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability, improving macroeconomic management, public administration and transparency, as well as creating conditions for GDP growth. "In addition, they (conditions. - Ed.) should be formulated so that they can be implemented in a short time and in the context of the ongoing pandemic," the document emphasizes.

There are also prerequisites for providing macro-financial assistance that are common to all EU partner countries: cooperation with the IMF, respect for democratic mechanisms, including the multi-party system, the rule of law and respect for human rights.

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