E.U Releases EUR 5.55 Million Budget Support for the Gambia

The European Union has today announced the release of EUR 5.55 million (about 338 million GMD) for the budget of The Gambia. In response to the outbreak of the covid-19 crisis, with this third tranche of an ongoing budget support operation, the EU has contributed almost EUR 40 million, equivalent to around 2.4 billion GMD.

Since the start of the democratic transition in 2016, the EU has contributed almost 6.8 billion GMD to the national budget of The Gambia.

Budget support consists of direct financial transfers to the national treasury of The Gambia. These transfers rely on policy dialogue, capacity building, and a performance assessment in areas related to, among others, democratic governance, respect for human rights, and the sound management of public finances.

“With this release of the third budget support tranche under the current State and Resilience Building Contract, the EU encourages the Gambian authorities to continue to improve the management of public finances and supports The Gambia’s national priorities, including in areas related to the electoral processes and constitutional reforms,” said Ambassador Corrado Pampaloni, the Head of European Union Delegation to the Republic of The Gambia.

The overall objective of budget support is to contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth in The Gambia. Key dimensions are macroeconomic stability, efficient and accountable use of public funds, gender equality, improved security sector governance, transparent management of natural resources, transitional justice, and the rule of law.