Franz Jessen, Notes from the EU Delegation, The Philippine Star
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The EU’s cooperation programs with the Philippines, which amounts to €340 million for the period 2014-2020, are defined together with Government and according to its priorities to provide Filipino people with support for creation of more and better jobs, increased access to renewable energy, peace and development in Mindanao, improved justice system and access to healthcare. During the year there has been much talk about ‘conditionality’ of EU assistance. And yes, obviously the EU had conditions as regards to how grants are spent, one example is that we explicitly has requirements with respect to (the absence of) corruption in EU grants. Obviously none of the “conditions” prevent nor do they prevent the Philippines from having an ‘independent foreign policy’ nor do they ‘interfere’ in domestic policies. In fact the activities under discussion have always been conducted hand in hand with the relevant government authorities.
Within the areas of culture and public diplomacy, the Cine Europa film festival, which has become the largest and oldest running festival in the country, saw its 20th edition this year and reached audiences of more than 50,000 persons all over the country. We again held the European Higher Education Fair where Filipino students could meet directly with a large number of higher education institutions, including some of the best European universities. This year 34 Filipino students begun on Master or PhD studies in Europe, fully funded under the Erasmus+ program. And we launched a series of cultural symposia on literature, visual arts, architecture and film; initiatives to further strengthen people-to-people links and mutual understanding. ...
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