Europarlement keurt financiële hulp aan Georgië goed (en)

A second, 46 million euro, financial assistance package to Georgia was approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday. Although the assistance is not controversial, with MEPs ready to provide the funds, a dispute with Council over the details of how to oversee the implementation of the aid has yet to be resolved. Therefore, today's vote is will to lead to a second reading of this proposal.

The macro-financial assistance is the second half of a previous commitment by the EU, and would be offered half in grants and half in loans. The Parliament has argued that the release of funds should be dealt with in the same spirit as previous instances of EU macro-financial assistance under the Lisbon Treaty, and will therefore simply adopt the Commission proposal as is.

The Council, however, has proposed that it should have a larger say in overseeing the release of funds (in technical terms, it argues for oversight through the "examination procedure," as opposed to the "management procedure"). If the Council sticks to its demands, the financial assistance cannot be mobilized, and a second reading process will begin.

Procedure: Co-decision (1st reading)