PAL/ NEW EU FUNDING FOR PALESTINIANS: SUPPORTING EDUCATION, HEALTH RELIEF AND SOCIAL SERVICES

The European Union has made available €200 million to ensure support to the Palestinian
 Authority (PA) and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
 Near East (UNRWA), in order to provide vital basic services to the Palestinian people,
 such as education, health relief and social services.
 
 This is the first tranche of EU support to the Palestinian people for 2014 and consists of two
 main actions: a contribution of €130 million, through the PEGASE mechanism, to the
 Palestinian Authority and a contribution of €70 million to the General Fund of UNRWA.
 
 Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy, Štefan Füle,
 commented: “The EU intends, through its contributions to the Palestinian Authority and
 UNRWA, to help sustain key Palestinian institutions and to provide a social safety net for
 refugees.”
 
“The PEGASE mechanism is open for contributions to Member States and other donors wishing to deliver their support to the Palestinian Authority through a rapid, well-functioning and transparent system,” he added.
 
PEGASE (which stands for the ‘Mécanisme Palestino-Européen de Gestion de l'Aide Socio-Economique’) is the mechanism through which the EU helps the Palestinian Authority build the institutions of the future independent Palestinian State. Through the payment of salaries of civil servants and pensioners it ensures that essential public services keep operating; in addition PEGASE provides for social allowances to those Palestinian households living in extreme poverty. As was the case in 2013, the EU PEGASE contribution for 2014 includes a component of €13 million to alleviate the debts of East Jerusalem hospitals and promote the reform of the health referral system...(link)