Press Release
PR/14/2013
Jerusalem
06 MAY 2013
The EU contributes €20 million to the Palestinian Authority’s April salaries and pensions
Arabic text: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/westbank/documents/news/2013/20130506_csp_april__salaries_pr_ar.pdf
Today the European Union has contributed approximately €20 million to the payment of salaries and pensions for March of nearly 76,000 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 (around €19.3 million) and the Government of Luxembourg (€0.7 million)
“The European Union continues to support the Palestinian Authority, month by month, to meet the basic needs of the Palestinian population. Our contribution to the payment of salaries and pensions is one of the most tangible ways to help ensure delivery of public services”, said the EU Representative Mr. John Gatt-Rutter. “The EU’s direct financial support to the Palestinian Authority is not merely a cash-injection. Taken together with our institution-building programmes our efforts are designed to achieve real reforms on the ground, added the EU Representative.
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 €1.47 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.
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[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)
Document Type: Arabic text, Press Release
Document Sources: European Commission, European Union (EU), PEGASE
Country: Luxembourg
Subject: Assistance, Governance, Statehood-related
Publication Date: 06/05/2013