€3 billion EU COVID-19 Macro-Financial Assistance drives reforms and recovery in partner countries

The European Commission has concluded the ex-post evaluation of the EU's exceptional €3 billion macro-financial assistance (MFA) package put in place in response to the very specific circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the height of the crisis, the package provided critical support to ten partner countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Jordan, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Tunisia and Ukraine. Ukraine and Moldova have since become EU candidate countries.

The design of the package successfully balanced urgency with policy impact, pursuing important reforms agreed with the countries as part of the MFA's conditionality (in line with the EU perspective, for candidate countries).

The assessment confirms that the MFA package was a timely, well-targeted and highly relevant response to the unprecedented economic shock triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. It provided essential financial relief at a moment of acute fiscal pressure, helping partner governments stabilise their economies, sustain essential public services and preserve macroeconomic confidence.

The report highlights that the MFA was mobilised with exceptional speed in close coordination with co-legislators, as all ten operations were bundled into a single proposal in May 2020, adopted within five weeks with first disbursements made in early autumn. First tranches were released rapidly, while second tranches remained linked to targeted structural reforms aligned with national priorities.

The evaluation confirms that MFA supported progress in key areas, including public financial management, governance, rule of law and anti-corruption efforts, social protection and sectoral reforms, with conditions adapted to regional contexts and underlying vulnerabilities.

Overall, the evaluation concludes that the COVID-19 MFA package achieved its objectives effectively and reinforced the EU's role as a reliable and responsive partner in times of crisis. The experience reaffirmed the strategic value of MFA as a flexible crisis instrument capable of addressing urgent liquidity needs, catalysing reforms and reinforcing macroeconomic stability in the EU's neighbouring regions.

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