EU to assess if Mongolia is eligible for budget support

Oyundelger 2018-05-07 09:05

Economy

Officials from the EU institutions visited Ulaanbaatar to assess if Mongolia is eligible for an EU Budget Support Operation.

Officials from the EU institutions visited Ulaanbaatar to assess if Mongolia is eligible for an EU Budget Support Operation. EU Budget Support involves direct financial transfers to the national budget of the partner country and is based on policy dialogue, performance assessment, and capacity building. This approach respects partner countries' ownership of development policies and reforms, focusing on results for people and sustainable development. "If the conditions are met, the EU will be ready to launch a budget support operation for around 50 million euros. By supporting Government policies, we ensure full alignment with Mongolia's priorities and also support Mongolia's commitment to implement the IMF Extended Fund Facility", said Mr. Marco Ferri, Chargé d'Affaires of the EU Delegation to Mongolia. The purpose of the mission was to assess the eligibility criteria of an EU Budget support operation and launch its identification process. This Budget support operation could cover two focal sectors of the Multiannual indicative program 2014-2020. These are "Governance of Revenues for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth" and "Support for Better Employment Opportunities" for a total amount of approximately  EUR 50 million. Among others, the mission had meetings with officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour, judicial authorities, members of Parliament, International Financial Institutions based in Mongolia and civil society organizations. This mission has allowed reinforcing the policy dialogue between the EU and Mongolia in areas like Public Financial management and Employment policies. Once the conditions are right, the EU is committed to providing budget support as a means to support country‘s policy objectives to help financing national development strategies and to promote sound and transparent public financial management.