On Monday, the European Union announced that it would allocate €38 million to Western Balkan states to help them deal with Coronavirus.
A further €140 million was announced for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgian, Moldova and Ukraine.
The announcement comes after Brussels came under fire for not doing enough to help European countries outside of the bloc, including candidate countries. It has also been seen as a move to counter the support given to countries from China and Russia.
Albania and North Macedonia will get €4 million each, Bosnia and Herzegovina will get €7 million, Montenegro €3 million and Kosovo €5 million. Serbia will get €15 million. This money is to be used to cover the immediate healthcare needs. A further EUR 374 million in existing funding packages will be allocated to help ease the economic impact of the epidemic.
The EU’s enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said “These are very difficult times not only for the EU but for our partner countries as well. We are doing all we can to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on human lives and livelihoods.”
The move comes after the EU previously restricted the export of protective equipment to countries outside the bloc.
