Notice2025-00899
Report on the Selection of Eligible Countries for Fiscal Year 2025 (Albania)
Primary source
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Published
January 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
Millennium Challenge Corporation
Abstract
This report is provided in accordance with the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended. The report is set forth in full below.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3966-3967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00899]
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MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
[MCC FR 25-01]
Report on the Selection of Eligible Countries for Fiscal Year
2025 (Albania)
AGENCY: Millennium Challenge Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This report is provided in accordance with the Millennium
Challenge Act of 2003, as amended. The report is set forth in full
below.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Report on the Selection of Eligible
Countries for Fiscal Year 2025 (Albania).
Summary
This report is provided in accordance with section 608(d)(1) of the
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended (the Act) (22 U.S.C.
7707(d)(1)). This is the second such report for fiscal year (FY) 2025
due to the enactment of the Millennium Challenge Corporation Candidate
Country Reform Act on December 23, 2024.
The Act authorizes the provision of assistance under section 605 of
the Act (22 U.S.C. 7704) to countries that enter into compacts with the
United States to support policies and programs that advance the
progress of such countries in achieving lasting poverty reduction
through economic growth and are in furtherance of the Act. The Act
requires the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to determine the
countries that will be eligible to receive assistance for the fiscal
year, based on their demonstrated commitment to just and democratic
governance, economic freedom, and investing in their people, as well as
on the opportunity to reduce poverty through economic growth in the
country. The Act also requires the submission of reports to appropriate
congressional committees and the publication of notices in the Federal
Register that identify, among other things:
1. The countries that are ``candidate countries'' for assistance
for FY 2025 based on their per-capita income levels and their
eligibility to receive assistance under U.S. law, and countries that
would be candidate countries, but for specified legal prohibitions on
assistance (section 608(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(a)));
2. The criteria and methodology that the Board of Directors of MCC
(the Board) used to measure and evaluate the policy performance of the
``candidate countries'' consistent with the requirements of section 607
of the Act in order to determine ``eligible countries'' from among the
``candidate countries'' (section 608(b) of the Act (22 U.S.C.
7707(b))); and
3. The list of countries determined by the Board to be ``eligible
countries'' for FY 2025, with justification for eligibility
determination and selection for compact negotiation, including with
which of the eligible countries the Board will seek to enter into
compacts (section 608(d) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(d))).
This is an additional report that fulfills the requirements under
the third of the above-described reports by MCC for FY 2025. A prior
report was sent to Congress on December 19, 2024. Both the prior report
and this report identify countries determined by the Board to be
eligible under section 607 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7706) for FY 2025 with
which MCC seeks to enter into compacts under section 609 of the Act (22
U.S.C. 7708), as well as the justification for such decisions. The
prior report also identifies countries selected by the Board to receive
assistance under MCC's threshold program pursuant to section 616 of the
Act (22 U.S.C. 7715).
Eligible Countries
The Board met on December 18, 2024, to select those eligible
countries with which the United States, through MCC, will seek to enter
into a Millennium Challenge Compact pursuant to section 607 of the Act
(22 U.S.C. 7706). At the time, the Board selected Liberia as eligible
to develop a compact, as noted in MCC's previous report.
Following the passage of the MCC Candidate Country Reform Act, as
part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025,
the Board considered additional eligible countries with which the
United States, through MCC, will seek to enter into a Millennium
Challenge Compact pursuant to section 607 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7706).
On January 7, 2025, the Board selected Albania for such assistance for
FY 2025 via a written consent action in accordance with section 9 of
MCC's bylaws. Albania is invited by MCC to develop a compact.
Criteria
In accordance with the Act and with the ``Selection Criteria and
Methodology Report for Fiscal Year 2025'' formally submitted to
Congress on September 20, 2024, selection was based primarily on a
country's overall performance in three broad policy categories: Ruling
Justly, Encouraging Economic Freedom, and Investing in People. The
Board relied, to the fullest extent possible, upon transparent and
independent indicators to assess countries' policy performance and
demonstrated commitment in these three broad policy areas. The Board
compared countries' performance on the indicators relative to their
income-level peers, evaluating them in comparison to either the group
of countries with a GNI per capita equal to or less than $2,165, the
group with a GNI per capita between $2,166 and $4,515, or the group
with a GNI per capita between $4,516 and $7,895.
The criteria and methodology used to assess countries, including
the methodology for the annual scorecards, are outlined in the
``Selection Criteria and Methodology Report for Fiscal Year 2025.'' \1\
Scorecards reflecting each country's performance on the indicators are
available on MCC's website at <a href="https://www.mcc.gov/who-we-select/scorecards">https://www.mcc.gov/who-we-select/scorecards</a>.
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\1\ Available at <a href="https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/report-selection-criteria-methodology-fy25">https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/report-selection-criteria-methodology-fy25</a>.
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The Board also considered whether any adjustments should be made
for data gaps, data lags, or recent events since the indicators were
published, as well as strengths or weaknesses in particular indicators.
Where appropriate, the Board considered additional quantitative and
qualitative information, such as evidence of a country's commitment to
fighting corruption, investments in human development outcomes, or
poverty rates. MCC published a Guide to Supplemental Information \2\ to
increase transparency about the type of supplemental information the
Board uses to assess a country's policy performance. In keeping with
statutory requirements, the Board also considered the opportunity to
reduce poverty and promote economic growth in a country, in light of
the overall information available, as well as the availability of
appropriated funds.
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\2\ Available at <a href="https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/guide-to-supplemental-information">https://www.mcc.gov/resources/doc/guide-to-supplemental-information</a>.
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The Board sees the selection decision as an annual opportunity to
determine where MCC funds can be most effectively used to support
poverty reduction through economic growth in well-governed countries
with demonstrated development need. The Board carefully considers the
appropriate nature of each country partnership--on a case-by-case
basis--based on factors related to poverty reduction through economic
growth, the sustainability of MCC's investments, and the country's
ability to attract and leverage public and private resources in support
of development.
This is the first fiscal year in which the Board used its new
authority under
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the MCC Candidate Country Reform Act to select from the additional
group of countries newly included for consideration for MCC assistance.
The new authority aligns the income threshold for a country to be an
MCC candidate county with the World Bank threshold for initiating the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development graduation
process ($7,895 gross national income per capita for fiscal year 2025).
In considering any such new countries in MCC's candidate pool, the
Board will continue to apply MCC's long-standing statutorily mandated
eligibility criteria and selectivity model to all selections and will
continue to prioritize the opportunity to reduce poverty through
economic growth.
Country Newly Selected for Compact Assistance
Using the criteria described above, Albania, a candidate country
under section 606(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7705(a)), was newly selected
as eligible for assistance under section 607 of the Act (22 U.S.C.
7706). Albania is invited by MCC to develop a compact.
Albania: A prior MCC threshold program partner, Albania performs
well on the scorecard, passing 15 of 20 indicators overall. A stable
democracy with a record of competitive elections, Albania is expected
to hold parliamentary elections on May 11, 2025. In recent years,
Albania has adopted critical anti-corruption and rule of law reforms
amid efforts to join the European Union, which are reflected in its
performance on the scorecard. Despite sound economic governance,
Albania continues to face headwinds in its development path given its
vulnerabilities to geopolitical and natural disaster-related shocks,
which have disproportionately affected the poor in recent years; 14
percent of the population lives on less than $6.85 per day--the World
Bank's poverty line for upper middle-income countries. MCC's Board
selected Albania as eligible to develop a compact in recognition of
Albania's democratic history, progress fighting corruption, and ongoing
development needs.
(Authority: 22 U.S.C. 7707(d)(2))
Dated: January 10, 2025.
Peter E. Jaffe,
Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-00899 Filed 1-13-25; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE 9211-03-P
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