EUR 14 million to support Myanmar's democratic transition

On 10 July 2018, U Tun Tun Naing, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Finance, and representatives of the Delegation of the European Union to Myanmar signed a new financing agreement for EUR 14 million to support Myanmar’s democratic transition.

The new grant will be channelled through two projects: “STEP2Democracy” and “MyGovernance”. Both projects will work with key democratic institutions in Myanmar to strengthen administrative capacities, policy development, and legal reform.

The European Union (EU) has been assisting Myanmar’s democratic transition and the development of its government and administrative institutions since 2013. The new financing agreement allows for continued support.

At the signing ceremony in Nay Pyi Taw, U Tun Tun Naing, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Planning and Finance, said: “We welcome this financing agreement as a significant step forward. The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to strengthening the institutional, political and civic capacity in institutions critical to sustaining Myanmar’s democratic transition. It also reinforces the friendly ties between Myanmar and the EU, that will lead to better outcomes for the people of Myanmar.”

Head of Development Cooperation and Chargé d’Affaires of the EU Delegation in Yangon, Dr. Johann Hesse underlined that “the European Union remains firmly committed to support Myanmar’s democratic transition. Democratic governance is a priority for the EU. STEP2Democracy will in particular support the Union Election Commission and other democratic actors to reform the electoral system and improve the administration of the election process in the run-up to the 2020 elections. STEP2 will also work to increase the participation of underrepresented groups and to raise public awareness of the importance and working mechanisms of electoral democracy.”

With a new EUR 10 million grant, STEP2Democracy will support the Union Election Commission, political parties, local government bodies and civil society organisations in the run-up to the 2020 elections. At the request of Myanmar beneficiaries, and as recommended by the EU Election Observation Mission in 2015, the project aims to increase the participation of underrepresented groups, create stronger institutions and norms of multiparty competition, develop more efficient conflict resolution mechanisms to solve electoral conflicts and an enhanced public understanding of electoral democracy.

The EU’s MyGovernance programme is receiving a reinforcement of EUR 4 million bringing the programme’s total budget to EUR 16 million to work with various legislative and government institutions, strengthening the capacities of staff and promoting policy dialogue. The programme will be able to provide flexible, demand-driven assistance to the public sector on issues such as aid coordination, development planning, public finance management, education sector policy development, land use management as well as monitoring systems for rural development programmes, strengthening budget oversight by the Parliament, and the development of civil service training capacities.

Original source: EC
Published on 10 July 2018