The European Union has made today a contribution of €24.5 million to the payment of August salaries and pensions of nearly 56,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank.

This contribution is funded by the European Union as part of its Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority channelled through PEGASE[1].

''We are aware of the deep and complex financial crisis facing the Palestinian Authority. Our expectation is that economic and fiscal agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority should continue to be fully implemented, including obligations under the Paris Protocol.  Palestinian institutions are delivering health, education, and security to millions of Palestinians. This should be in the interest of all parties. In this context, we will continue our financial support and remain a reliable and committed donor in order to secure the PA’s fiscal sustainability and protect its institution-building achievements", said the EU Acting Representative Tomas Niklasson.

Background

Most of the European Union assistance to the Palestinian Authority is channelled through PEGASE, the financial mechanism launched in 2008 to support the PA Reform and Development Plan and subsequent Palestinian national plans and agendas, including the ongoing National Policy Agenda "Putting Citizens First". As well as helping to meet a substantial proportion of its recurrent expenditure, European funds support major reform and development programmes in key ministries, to help prepare the PA for statehood. In the last 11 years, over €2.6 billion were disbursed through the PEGASE Direct Financial Support programmes. In addition, the EU has provided assistance to the Palestinian people through UNRWA and a wide range of cooperation projects.