The European Union has made today a contribution of €16.5 million to the payment of October salaries and pensions of more than 40,000 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]. “The European Union continues to make significant contributions to the Palestinian Authority budget to help pay the salaries of civil servants and pensioners.

We are supporting Palestinian teachers, health personnel and social workers who are crucial for education, health and social welfare services”, said the EU Acting Representative Tomas Niklasson.

“The Palestinian Authority has made significant tangible progress over the past few years in building the institutions of a future Palestinian state including the provision of quality services to its people. This progress should be maintained and enhanced,” he added. 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.

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