“There will not be any change in EU development strategy for Laos until 2020 as it falls in our current programming period 2014-20,” EU Delegation Charge d’Affaires Michel Goffin told Vientiane Times during an annual meeting with the former EU Erasmus Plus scholarship recipients, which also bade farewell to 12 new awardees in Vientiane last Friday.
“But after 2020 we will have to see what achievements we reach in terms of country development and then work closely with the government to determine where the needs are in order to decide our next assistance programme.”
The EU’s programme for Laos over this period has already been allocated and will not be changed.
The amount of the EU’s aid for least developed countries (LDCs) will not decrease even after 2020, given that their number will decline.
According to the EU Delegation in Vientiane, the union will cut aid to countries that are above the poverty line and shift it to the LDC countries.
Despite the global economic slowdown, EU assistance to Laos continues to increase.
The main bilateral programmes implemented in Laos aim to reduce poverty by supporting the government’s objective to graduate from LDC status by 2020.
From 2007-13, EU funding amounted to more than 69 million euros (Bt2.7 billion).
The current programming period of 2014-20 has seen a substantial increase with a total amount of 207 million euros.
In line with the Eighth National Socioeconomic Development Plan, Millennium Development Goals and the recent Sustainable Development Goals, EU development cooperation targets three key sectors – nutrition, education and governance.