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| Flags of Albania, Serbia, North Macedonia and EU |
The success of the European Union (EU) summit held on Thursday in Brussels, where a decision was approved to provide 50 billion euros in aid to Ukraine, is also crucial for development assistance to the Western Balkan countries.
Several EU leaders highlighted this point after the conclusion of the summit in Brussels, discussing the rebalancing of the multiannual financial framework of the EU for the period 2021-2027.
On Thursday, EU leaders unanimously approved the decision, securing Hungary's agreement, which had blocked the decision for several months, requiring unanimous consent from all member states. With this decision, a total of 65 billion euros will be allocated to cover the EU budget for the next four years.
Out of this amount, 50 billion euros will be macro-financial assistance for Ukraine, nearly 10 billion will be for managing illegal migration. Meanwhile, 2 billion euros will be earmarked for the Western Balkan countries. These funds will be part of the EU's plan for economic growth in the Western Balkans, previously presented by the European Commission, but the funding had not been secured until now.
Now, the approval of the European Parliament is required for the EU to commence the provision of financial assistance for economic growth in the Western Balkans region. The European Commission has proposed a comprehensive package of 6 billion euros, with 2 billion in the form of grants and 4 billion in the form of favorable loans for which the European Union will provide guarantees.
The European Commission has emphasized that the use of these funds by the countries in the region will be conditional on the rule of law.
For Kosovo and Serbia, there will also be specific conditions related to progress in the normalization process of their relations.