BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – The European Union will open a representative office in Myanmar to manage aid programmes and promote political dialogue, an EU spokesman said yesterday.
The move follows the handover of power to a civilian government in Myanmar last year — albeit one stuffed with former military men and backed by the army — and a series of political and economic reforms since then.
Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said an agreement to open the office in Yangon had been reached with the Myanmar government. It would not be a full delegation but would report to the EU ambassador in Bangkok, capital of neighbouring Thailand.
“It will be responsible for management of aid programmes but will also have a political role,” he said. “We will open it as soon as it is administratively possible.”
Last November, the European Union said it was looking at whether reforms in Myanmar could justify the bloc further easing sanctions imposed after bloody military crackdowns on a pro-democracy movement.
It said positive moves by the civilian government since the elections had exceeded expectations but urged the reclusive Asian country to release more dissidents — hundreds of whom remain in detention.
