The European Union provides €22 million for the payment of social allowances to poor Palestinian families

For the past 17 years, the European Union has been a steadfast supporter of the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), collaborating to ensure that basic social allowances are extended to the most vulnerable families residing in the West Bank and Gaza.

Today, the European Union has contributed with €22 million to support the most vulnerable Palestinian families in this particularly harsh economic and fiscal crisis. The European funding has been channelled through the PEGASE mechanism paying the social allowances of 71,162 families below the extreme poverty line. Another 37,774 families are covered by the PA government budget.

"The European Union remains committed to support the Palestinian social protection system, even amid the backdrop of fiscal crisis faced by the Palestinian Authority. The ongoing cash transfer program has encountered unprecedented financial obstacles, emphasizing the need for unified efforts among partners to ensure the financial and fiscal sustainability of the Palestinian social allowance system. Social protection as an intrinsic right and upholding it is a collective responsibility that all duty bearers must safeguard to make sure we leave no one behind,” said Maria Velasco, the Deputy Representative of the European Union.

Background:

Since 2008, most of the European Union's assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is channelled through the PEGASE Direct Financial Support, supporting the PA reform process and various national development plans, currently the National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2023. PEGASE supports the PA’s recurrent expenditures, mainly the salaries and pensions of civil servants, the social allowances paid through the cash transfer programme and part of the costs of referrals to the East Jerusalem Hospitals. Since 2008, over €3 billion were disbursed through PEGASE by the European Commission and various development partners, mainly EU Member States. The European Joint Strategy 2021-2024 in support to Palestine is the basis for the implementation of the European development cooperation and provides a joint European response to the NDP priorities, including support to major reforms and to programmes implemented by key ministries in preparation for statehood. In addition, the EU provides assistance through UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.