Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Officials from the EU institutions visited Ulaanbaatar from 23 to 27 April to assess if Mongolia is eligible for an EU Budget Support Operation.  Budget Support involves direct financial transfers to the national budget of the partner country and is basedon 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. We had very productive meetings with key stake holders, which we thank, and we are encouraged by Government's efforts to maintain stability in public administration, to promote sound management and efficient implementation of policies and programmes. We will continue to assist in developing solid policies for the country in the next years", 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 programme 2014-2020 "Governance of Revenues for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth" (29 million EUR) and "Support for Better Employment Opportunities" (21,8million EUR) 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. The EU expresses its gratitude to the authorities of Mongolia for their cooperation. 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 provide 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. Budget support involves the direct transfer of funds to a partner country’s budget using national systems combined with technical assistance and enhanced policy dialogue.
 
The four eligibility criteria are the following:
- Sector policies are in place;
- Stable macro-economic framework;
- Sound Public Financial Management;
- Transparency and oversight of the budget.

source: eeas.europa.eu/