The European Commission welcomes the political agreement on 2 June 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 budgetary period. This instrument supports EU candidate countries and potential candidates on their path towards fulfilling the EU accession criteria through deep and comprehensive reforms. The agreement will now be translated into legal texts, which will need to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council.

IPA III presents a solid policy-driven approach, with the strategic and dynamic deployment of assistance, putting the ‘fundamentals’ at its core: the rule of law and respect of fundamental values; strengthening democratic institutions and public administration reform; promoting economic governance and reforms towards competitiveness. The new instrument will also increase steer from the Union, with programming based on thematic priorities rather than country envelopes. This allows for rewarding performance and progress towards key priorities and an increased flexibility to respond to the evolving needs of the partners in their path towards accession.