New IPAIII instrument will assist Albania in the enlargement process and provide up to +600 million EUR in support to Albania.

The Albanian Parliament ratified yesterday the EU agreement (Financial Framework Partnership Agreement), which will allow Albania to receive funds from the EU’s Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPAIII).  This pre-accession assistance supports EU candidate countries and potential candidates in adopting and implementing key political, institutional, social and economic reforms to comply with EU values and to progressively align with EU rules, standards and policies.

The new funding, which will not need to be repaid, will be directed at a variety of sectors such as justice reform, environment, energy, private sector development, agriculture, employment and social inclusion, good governance, and decentralisation and local government and civil society.

Ambassador Christiane Hohmann, Head of the EU Delegation to Albania said: “The opening of accession negotiations this summer were a milestone in EU-Albania relations, but our bond has always been very strong.  For years, the EU has been the largest supporter of reforms in Albania providing almost 100 million EUR annually for programmes in areas like justice reform, agriculture and many other areas touching the lives of Albanian citizens.  This ratification continues this strong partnership, with a new and larger package of support to both assist the Government in the enlargement process in the years ahead, as well as improve the every-day lives of Albanians.”

More information about EU support to Albania can be found on the website and social media channels of the EU Delegation to Albania.

More about IPAIII

IPAIII for the period 2021-2027 is focussed on the priorities of the EU’s enlargement process. Under IPA III, programming of EU assistance is programmed according to five thematic Windows, which mirror the clusters of the negotiating chapters. The thematic windows are:

• Window 1: Rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy;
• Window 2: Good governance, EU acquis alignment, good neighbourly relations and strategic communication;
• Window 3: Green agenda and sustainable connectivity;
• Window 4: Competitiveness and inclusive growth;
• Window 5: Territorial and cross border cooperation.

In addition, a number of cross-cutting themes, such as climate change, environmental protection, civil society, gender equality and rights-based approach, are mainstreamed and therefore implemented under the five windows.

The new IPAIII budget for the 2021-2027 programming period is over 14 billion EUR, covering the Western Balkans partners and Turkey.  This is a substantial increase from the 10 billion EUR budget of the previous IPA phase (IPAII, 2014-2020). 

You can find out more about the Instrument for Pre-Accession here: https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/overview-instrument-pre-accession-assistance_en