Division (a)

Macro-financial assistance should generally take the form of a loan. In exceptional cases, however, the assistance may be provided in the form of a grant or a combination of a loan and a grant. When determining the appropriate share of a possible grant element, the Commission, when preparing its proposal, should take into consideration the level of economic development of the beneficiary, as measured by per capita income and poverty ratios, as well as its ability to repay, drawing on debt sustainability analysis while ensuring that the principle of fair burden-sharing between the Union and other donors is respected. For this purpose, the Commission should also take into account the extent to which international financial institutions and other donors apply concessional terms to the country in question.