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1. The Union shall make macro-financial assistance of a maximum amount of EUR 100 000 000 available to North Macedonia (the ‘Union’s macro-financial assistance’), with a view to supporting North Macedonia’s economic stabilisation and substantive reform agenda. The entire amount of the assistance shall be provided in the form of loans. The release of the Union’s macro-financial assistance is subject to the adoption of the Union budget for the relevant year by the European Parliament and the Council. The assistance shall contribute to covering the balance-of-payments needs of North Macedonia as identified in the IMF programme.

2. In order to finance the loan, the Commission shall be empowered, on behalf of the Union, to borrow the necessary funds on the capital markets or from financial institutions and to on-lend the corresponding amounts to North Macedonia under the conditions applicable to the borrowings. The loans shall have a maximum average maturity of 15 years.

3. The release of the Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be managed by the Commission in a manner consistent with the agreements or understandings reached between the IMF and North Macedonia, and with the key principles and objectives of economic reforms set out in the Stabilisation and Association Agreement. The Commission shall regularly inform the European Parliament and the Council of developments regarding the Union’s macro-financial assistance, including disbursements thereof, and shall provide those institutions with the relevant documents in due time.

4. The Union’s macro-financial assistance shall be made available for a period of two and a half years, starting from the first day after the entry into force of the MoU referred to in Article 3(1).

5. If the financing needs of North Macedonia decrease fundamentally during the period of the disbursement of the Union’s macro-financial assistance compared to the initial projections, the Commission, acting in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 7(2), shall reduce the amount of the assistance or suspend or cancel it.