01/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU gives UNRWA an extra €30 million in funding. On Thursday 1 October, the European Commission announced that it is providing new aid of €30 million to support Palestinian refugees through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). An agreement was signed in New York on 30 September by Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Johannes Hahn and UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl for the first €10 million, with an additional €10 million to follow in October. The package also includes a further €10 million contribution to enable UNRWA to improve the education, health care and livelihood of the 480,000 Palestinian refugees living in Syria. Hahn explained in a press release: “This additional contribution will also allow UNRWA to bridge its financing gap in 2015 and to move forward in the implementation of its reform process.” EU support for UNRWA in 2015 currently totals €125 million. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)