Brussels, 06/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Union announced on Monday 6 December that it was providing a contribution of €20.7 million to help the Palestinian Authority pay the November salaries and pensions of almost 85,000 Palestinian public service providers and pensioners, almost a third of whom are based in Gaza. This contribution will cover one month's expenditure (November) and comes from the €41.4 million financing package to support the Palestinian Authority announced at the end of October. This financing package complemented a €158.5 million package signed earlier in the year. Since 2007, the EU has provided direct assistance to the Palestinian people, averaging more than €500 million annually.
PEGASE was launched by the European Commission on 1 February 2008. As well as helping to meet a substantial proportion of its running costs of the Salam Fayyad government, PEGASE funding supports the prime minister in preparing the Palestinian Authority for statehood, when political circumstances permit it. (F.B./transl.rt)