Brussels, 01/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 1 March, the European Commission approved an €252.5 million aid programme to help the Palestinian Authority and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Of the €252.5 million, €170.5 million will go to the Palestinian Authority via the PEGASE mechanism. The funding will be used for the supply of health and education services, the protection of the poorest families and for financial aid to hospitals in East Jerusalem. The remaining €82 million will go to the UNRWA budget. This support is aimed at providing better access to essential public services and to increased livelihood opportunities for the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees, the Commission states in a pres release.
The aid is the first part of the EU's annual support to Palestine for 2016.
Mogherini says Palestinian administration needs reform. High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said that while the EU's aid should enable the daily lives of Palestinians to be improved, “these steps are not enough”. “Palestinian institutions must continue to grow stronger, become more transparent, more accountable and more democratic. Viable and inclusive institutions, based on respect for the rule of law and human rights, are crucial in view of the establishment of an independent and sovereign state”, she added, as quoted in the Commission's press release. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)