EC development cooperation programme with Mongolia
 
Cooperation projects in all the areas in which the European Union is involved in Mongolia are based on Country Strategies which provide the strategic framework for EU assistance. The CSP sets out the cooperation objectives, policy responses and priority areas of cooperation based on the political and socio-economic situation in Mongolia. Based on the Country Strategies, Indicative Programmes outline in detail how the Strategy will be implemented.
 
Since 1990 the EC has provided over EUR 70 million grant aid to Mongolia, focusing mainly on support for rural development under the TACIS programme (Technical Assistance to the Community of Independent States) and since 2004 under the ALA Programme for Asian and Latin American developing countries. In addition, the EC Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) provided on several occasions aid to alleviate the consequences of harsh winters (‘Dzud’) and droughts. Assistance was then reoriented towards supporting Mongolian efforts for better disaster-preparedness.
 
DCI - Development Cooperation Instrument (since 2007)

In the framework of the EU’s 2007-2013 Financial Perspectives, new instruments of external assistance have been designed. These are the Development & Cooperation Instrument (DCI) that will fund geographical and thematic co-operation with developing countries, the EU Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument (ENPI) and the Pre-accession Instrument (IPA).
 
External assistance to Mongolia is regulated by the DCI which has the overall goal of poverty reduction, sustainable economic and social development and the gradual integration of developing countries into the world economy.
 
The latest Strategy Paper 2007-2013 and Multiannual Indicative Programme 2007-2010 for Mongolia is based on the new Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) which has replaced previous instruments such as TACIS and ALA. This new Strategy focuses on poverty alleviation through sustainable rural development. The Strategy responds to the need to improve living conditions and sustainable employment in the Mongolian countryside and to slow down the rural exodus. It also foresees possibilities for involvement in other sectors such as education or trade and economic cooperation. Continued work in rural development builds on the satisfactory results of the preceding Country Strategy Paper 2002-2006. A number of projects from the outgoing Strategy are still being implemented, in particular the EUR 9 million programme to improve animal health and livestock marketing.
 
In addition to the bilateral government-to-government cooperation, the EU provides other assistance to Mongolia e.g. through its thematic budget lines and regional programmes. Mongolia is also eligible for Erasmus Mundus scheme as well as SWITCH ASIA programme.
 
EC development assistance to Mongolia under ALA programme (2004-2006)

Since January 2004, the EU assistance for Mongolia has come under the External Assistance Programme of the European Commission for Asia and Latin America (ALA) which paved the way for new cooperation opportunities between the EU and Mongolia, and marked a new era of assistance for the country.
 
For 2004-2006, under the ALA Programme, a total of EUR 9 million was allocated to Mongolia with the objective to help the country enhance its export potential for agricultural products. In addition, in 2005, Mongolia became eligible for funding under the regional and thematic initiatives, known as the Asia-Wide Programmes, the Asia Trust Fund and the NGO co-financing budget line.
 
EC development assistance to Mongolia under TACIS programme (1994-2003)

Launched by the EC in 1991, the TACIS programme provided grant-financed technical assistance to 12 countries of the former Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) and Mongolia, with the objective of enhancing the economic and political transition process in these countries. In 1994 – 2003, under the TACIS programme Mongolia received EU technical assistance of about EUR 50 million in total.
 
In 1996-1999 the per capita assistance for Mongolia (EUR 8.9 million) was the highest among the TACIS recipient countries. In 1994-1995 assistance focused primarily on human resource development, but also on small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development, especially the agro-processing sector, and energy. In 1996–1999, the focus shifted to structural and institutional reform, enterprise and financial development and infrastructure development. In 2000–2003 the attention moved towards rural development, support to the private sector and assistance for economic development.
 
Furthermore, starting from 1995, the EC provided to Mongolia grant aid in support of democracy and human rights. Projects aimed at protecting minorities, developing civil society and introducing the basic infrastructures of public and democratic life.
 
 
The General Preferential Scheme for Sustainable Development (GSP) and GSP+
 
Since 1999, the EU introduced the Generalized System of Preferences, a general preferential market access scheme aimed at providing developing countries with an added advantage on its markets.
 
Since 2006, the new "GSP Plus" was launched as an incentive scheme for especially vulnerable countries that have ratified and effectively implemented key international conventions on sustainable development, labour rights and good governance. The GSP+ covers around 7,200 products.
 
The EU GSP is the most generous of all developed country GSP systems. The volume of imports to the EU from developing countries under the GSP is greater than the volume of imports under the US, Canadian and Japanese GSP systems combined.

Current status of the GSP+ in Mongolia

Since 2006 Mongolia is eligible for the GSP+. This is to say that practically all Mongolian export products are granted tariff-free access to the EU thanks to the GSP+.
 
Trade of cashmere and cashmere products have benefited the most from the GSP+ scheme and the EC has encouraged Mongolia to make efforts to enhance utilisation of the GSP+ in the future and to diversify the base of products exported.
 
To support Mongolian export industries and all other stakeholders, the EC has funded a number of awareness and capacity building projects under the GSP+ scheme implemented through the Asia Trust Fund in cooperation with the International Trade Centre (ITC) with a focus on the development of Geographical Indications for Mongolian products as a way to increase the products value on world markets.

For more information on GSP+ and other EU trade related issues go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/global/index_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/issues/global/gsp/index_en.htm
http://www.intracen.org/atf/welcome.htm
 
Asia Trust Fund

The EC Asia Trust fund (ATF) is a EUR 5 million facility under the ALA programme for the delivery of a demand-driven trade related technical assistance to Asian developing countries. It is being implemented by the International Trade Centre (ITC), a specialised Geneva-based UN agency. ITC is the technical cooperation agency of UNCTAD and the WTO and benefits from substantial experience in supporting developing economies through the delivery of technical assistance. This facility provides Asian developing countries with fast access to trade related technical assistance upon request.
 
 
Mongolia has benefited from the Asia Trust Fund (ATF) implementing three projects - two projects focused on Geographical Indications and the third focuses on assisting the Mongolian Ministry of Industry and Trade.
 
For more information on the Asia Trust Fund see: http://www.intracen.org/atf/welcome.htm