This Briefing Paper marks the first in a series of EIAS Briefing Papers on Mongolia and its relationship with the European Union (EU). The preceding gap between the end of the Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2007-2013 and the beginning of the CSP 2014-2020 as well as the signing of the yet to be ratified EU-Mongolia Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA), presents an occasion to reflect on the current state of Mongolia, the success of EU-Mongolia relations, the development of the relationship from 1989 until 2013 and the prospects for further areas of development cooperation between the two parties. As a result, this series of papers will look closely at the areas where cooperation has already been administered and the prospects for continued collaboration in the relevant areas in regards to the priorities of the EU and Mongolia as well as new areas which should be considered for cooperation from 2014-2020. This first paper therefore outlines the current situation in Mongolia as well as its foreign policy, in order to provide a greater understanding of where cooperation with the EU could be administered in the next few years. These areas will be individually analysed in later papers.