The Foreign Affairs Council on 18 May 2026 adopted an A-item amending Council Regulation (EC) No 332/2002 on the balance of payments facility, allowing the Commission to use a diversified funding strategy for faster disbursement. The change was presented by Estonia, which chaired the meeting, as a technical alignment with existing instruments. No Member State intervened or objected, and the Council agreed in principle, pending European Parliament consent.
The amendment updates a regulation originally adopted in 2002, which provides medium-term financial assistance to EU Member States facing balance-of-payments difficulties. The new diversified funding strategy mirrors approaches already used in other EU financial instruments, such as the Macro-Financial Assistance and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism. The procedural nature of the debate reflected broad consensus among Member States, with no substantive disagreement recorded.
Affected stakeholders include EU Member States that may require balance-of-payments support, which will benefit from faster disbursement of funds. The European Commission gains increased flexibility in raising and deploying capital, potentially reducing administrative delays. The European Parliament will now consider the text as part of the consent procedure, though no timeline for its vote has been set.