The EU, the Netherlands and Sweden contribute €18.9 million to the
Palestinian Authority's payment of June salaries and pensions
Today the European Union has contributed approximately €18.9 million to the payment of the salaries and pensions for June of nearly 75,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This contribution, which is channelled through the PEGASE[1] mechanism, is funded by the European Commission (€13.2 million), the Government of Sweden (SEK 40.0 million or c.€4.6 million) and the Government of the Netherlands (c.€1.1 million earmarked specifically to the PA salaries in the Justice sector).
"Ahead of the Holy month of Ramadan starting next week, we are happy to show once again our continuous commitment to support the Palestinian public sector and the Palestinian people. This month's contribution comes not only from the EU but also from Sweden and the Netherlands. The programme of support to the payment of salaries and pensions of the Palestinian Authority is a clear example of EU Member States working together on the ground. We join forces to support the Palestinian Authority in meeting its recurrent expenditure whilst pursuing reforms", said the EU Representative Mr. John Gatt-Rutter.
Background
Most of the European Union's assistance to the Palestinian Authority is channelled through PEGASE, the financial mechanism launched in 2008 to support the PA Reform and Development Plan (2008-2010) and the subsequent PA Palestinian National Plan (2011-2013). As well as helping to meet a substantial proportion of its running costs, European funds support major reform and development programmes in key ministries, to help prepare the PA for statehood in line with the state-building plan put forward by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in August 2009. Since February 2008, around €1.51 billion have been 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.
[1] Mécanisme Palestino-Européen de Gestion de l'Aide Socio-Economique (PEGASE)
Contacts:
The Office of the European Union Representative:
Antonia Zafeiri (02 5415 859, 0548 024 915) & Shadi Othman (02 5415 867, 0599 673 958)
Download Document Files: https://unispal.un.org/pdfs/PR202013a.pdf
Document Type: Arabic text, Press Release
Document Sources: European Commission, European Union (EU), PEGASE
Country: Netherlands, Sweden
Subject: Assistance, Economic issues, Governance
Publication Date: 04/07/2013