The European Union (EU) has agreed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on macro-financial assistance (MFA) programmes with eight partners including Georgia, announced the EU.

The agreements are part of the €3 billion MFA package for ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners, aimed to help them limit the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

For Georgia, the policy conditions for its €150 million MFA programme relate to strengthening public finance management, improving governance, sector reforms, and labour market policies.

EU said, “the ongoing and swift implementation of these programmes is an important demonstration of the EU’s solidarity with these countries at a time of unprecedented crisis.”

As of today, the Commission has agreed Memoranda of Understanding on macro-financial assistance (MFA) programmes with eight partners as part of the €3 billion MFA package aimed to help them limit the economic fallout of the #COVID19 pandemichttps://t.co/PlsiflZuOv

— Luciano Scambiato Licciardi (@LucianoSL_EU) August 11, 2020

Memoranda of Understanding have already been agreed with Albania, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine. These documents have also been formally signed with four of them: Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia and Ukraine. Negotiations of the MoUs with the remaining two countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Tunisia – are underway.

“The MoUs provide for the policy actions to which the beneficiaries commit in order to receive the second tranche of assistance. Agreeing and signing the MoUs is an important step towards the first disbursement under the programmes, which is conditional on fulfilling the political pre-conditions, including the respect of democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law. Beneficiary countries should also benefit from an IMF financial assistance programme,” stressed EU.