EU welcomes decree-law restructuring social welfare system and revoking payment mechanism for prisoners and ‘martyrs’

21/02/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 21 February, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, welcomed the publication on 11 February of the “awaited” decree-law by the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, aimed at restructuring the social welfare system and revoking the “prisoners and martyrs’ payment mechanism”. In a statement, they called it a “significant political development” and an “important step forward in the Palestinian Authority’s reform agenda”. “Such a decision, taken at a challenging time for the Palestinian people, signals the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to implement far-reaching reforms that will improve its efficiency and stabilise its fiscal situation”, said the High Representative and the Commissioner. The EU will carefully analyse the details of the law, they said. (CG)