EU confirms PH rejection of P382M EU aid

FILE: European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen (Photo: European Union in the Philippines/Facebook)

European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen was saddened to confirm on Wednesday that the Philippines formally rejected the trade-related fund worth P382 million or 6.1 million euros of donation.

This supposed fund was supposed to be under the 300-million-euro-worth EU-Philippine Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) in 2017.

“For me, it is a bit sad that after 30 years plus of development cooperation, we suddenly get into this situation,” Jessen told the media in the Kapihan sa  Manila Bay news forum.“

“It was formalized in the sense that we have, for example in the TRTA, a document that actually had to be signed by the end of the year. And that has been returned to us unsigned,” the ambassador explained.

Apart from this, the government will also be rejecting another P2.4 billion or 39 million euros worth of assistance fund for sustainable energy projects.

The administration has expressed disappointment when the EU called for an investigation on the killings related to the President’s campaign to eradicate illegal drugs.

President Rodrigo Duterte in October accused the EU of not respecting the country’s sovereignty, and declared his rejection of any aid.

“I’m cursing them [the EU] because they do not know how to respect sovereignty,” he said. “We need aid but if it’s like that, you are taught how to do it … that’s pedantry,” Duterte added while fuming.

It was also in October when Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano called the aid package as an ‘excuse’ to criticize the President and his campaign.

Regardless of these strains in the relationship of the Philippines and the EU, Jessen said that they respect the decision.

“We respect the decision. It is important for us that we don’t have misunderstanding. It’s at the end of the day, for them to decide,” he said.