The specific objectives of the evaluation are:

• Support the design of the new multiannual country programme 2021-2027, with particular regard to the Commission’s newly introduced priorities;
• Feed into the considerations for EU budget support and contribute to the diagnosis of conditions for European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+);
• Contribute to the design and implementation of the envisioned Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with Tajikistan which is relevant for promoting Europe as a stronger global actor (Commission priority for 2019-24) and for increasing the resilience of states and societies to the East stretching into Central Asia in line with EU Global Strategy;
• Support the joint programming exercise, which is now fledging. According to the NDICI proposal, joint programming shall be the preferred approach for country programming as it is the EU’s ambition to develop a clear Team Europe approach in the post-2020 cycle;
• Contribute to the negotiations and process of application of the Generalised Scheme for Preferences Plus (GSP+) which Tajikistan can apply for when pending issues are resolved;
• Contribute to the stocktaking, lesson-learning exercise on the objectives of the new Team Europe approach undertaken by DG DEVCO by assessing the EU’s response as provided to the COVID-19 crisis in support of Tajikistan;

The thematic scope of the evaluation covers the following sectors: rural development, education, health, security, environnement, climate change, public finance management as well as cross-cutting issues such as gender, environment or human rights.
Report available here: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/publications/evaluation-european-unions-cooperation-tajikistan_en