EU Council gives green light for pre-accession funds

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) – The Council of the EU on Tuesday approved funds for 2021-27 for the pre-accession of bloc membership candidate states such as Turkey as well as possible future candidates.

The €14.2 billion ($16.8 billion) will help the candidate and potential candidate countries implement legal, administrative, social and economic reforms with a view to EU membership, the Council of the EU representing member states said in a statement.

Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia can all benefit from the fund, officially called the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance III.

In a major change compared to previous budgetary cycles, the scope and intensity of the disbursement will depend on the performance of the beneficiaries, mainly in the areas of rule of law, fundamental rights, public administration reform, economic development, and competitiveness.

At the same time, the EU will also ensure that the level of assistance does not become disproportionately low, respecting the fair share principle.

As a last step, the European Parliament will officially approve the IPA III in the coming weeks.

Turkey became an EU candidate country in 1999, and its accession negotiations began in 2005.

In recent years its accession bid has stalled, with Turkey blaming political blocks by certain EU members that have nothing to do with its fitness to join the bloc.