Declaration on Article 181a of the Treaty establishing the European Community
The Conference confirms that, without prejudice to other provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Community, balance-of-payments aid to third countries falls outside the scope of Article 181a.
Article 247 (2) of the Convention provides that balance-of-payments aid under structural adjustment programmes can be provided in the form of general import programmes (GIPs) or sectoral import programmes (SIPs). A GIP in a particular economic situation is justified balance-of-payments aid, while the counterpart funds used for targeted budgetary spending give a sectoral dimension.
