EU PLEDGES €260M AID TO MANILA

European Union (EU) said on it has pledged a €260 million (P16.5 billion) grant to the Philippines despite the Duterte administration’s refusal to accept European bloc.

- pine government formally rejected last month an aid amounting to € 6.1 million ( 382.45 million), according to EU Ambassador to the

- tion was uncertain.

Jessen previously said the documents for the aid were returned unsigned, which were supposed to be signed last December.

they informed contractors that about €39 million (P2.5 billion) worth of sustainable energy projects in Mindanao might no longer materialize.

Still, the administration’s move to reject the fourth phase of the - tance from the EU will not affect their €260 million development assistance between 2014 and 2020.

“What we’re going today, I mean the ongoing cooperation that we have with the Philippines is €260 million,” European Commission’s Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development Director General Stefano Manservisi told reporters.

will go to energy projects, with about € 170 million to be earmarked for areas in Mindanao that are not connected to the main grid.