
Article 1 

1. The Community shall make available to Georgia macro-financial assistance in the form of straight grants up to a maximum amount of EUR 33,5 million with a view to supporting economic reforms and helping the country improve debt sustainability.
2. This Community macro-financial assistance shall be managed by the Commission in consultation with the Economic and Financial Committee and in a manner fully consistent with the agreements reached between the IMF and Georgia.
3. The Community macro-financial assistance shall be made available for two years starting from the first day after the entry into force of this Decision. However, if circumstances so require, the Commission, after consulting the Economic and Financial Committee, may decide to extend the availability period by a maximum of one year.
Article 2 

1. The Commission shall be empowered to agree with the authorities of Georgia, after consulting the Economic and Financial Committee, the economic policy and financial conditions attached to this assistance, to be laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding. These conditions shall be consistent with the agreements reached between the IMF and Georgia.
2. During the implementation of the Community assistance, the Commission shall monitor the soundness of Georgia’s financial circuits, administrative procedures and internal and external control mechanisms which are relevant to this Community macro-financial assistance.
3. The Commission shall verify at regular intervals that the government’s economic policies are in accordance with the objectives of this assistance and that the agreed economic policy and financial conditions are being fulfilled.
Article 3 

1. The grant amount shall be made available to Georgia in at least two instalments insofar as its net debtor position towards the Community has been reduced, as a rule, by at least a similar amount.
2. The first grant instalment shall be released on the basis of a satisfactory implementation of the economic programme supported by the IMF under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.The second and any further instalments shall be released on the basis of a satisfactory implementation of the IMF-supported economic programme and any other measures laid down in the Memorandum of Understanding referred to in Article 2(1), and not before three months have elapsed since the release of the previous instalment.
3. The funds shall be paid to the National Bank of Georgia. The final recipient of the funds will be the Ministry of Finance of Georgia.
Article 4 
The implementation of this assistance shall take place in accordance with the provisions of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities and its implementing rules. In particular, the Memorandum of Understanding referred to in Article 2(1) shall provide for appropriate measures by Georgia in relation to the prevention of and the fight against fraud, corruption and any other irregularities linked to this assistance. It shall also provide for controls by the Commission, including the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), with the right to perform on-the-spot checks and inspections, and for audits by the Court of Auditors, where appropriate, to be carried out on the spot.
Article 5 
At least once a year, before September, the Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and to the Council a report including an evaluation of the implementation of this Decision in the previous year.
Article 6 
This Decision shall take effect on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels, 24 January 2006.
For the Council
The President
K.-H. GRASSER