Eduardo González
The Council of Ministers authorized a new €46 million contribution from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to support Palestinian governance.
The approved funds will go to the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Authority and will be channeled through the Palestinian-European Mechanism for the Management of Socioeconomic Aid (PEGASE), an initiative launched in 2008 by the European Union to provide financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority for the provision of public services, the payment of salaries to civil servants, and social benefits to vulnerable families. The mechanism also supports infrastructure development and promotes sustainable development in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
“This new contribution is one of the largest voluntary contributions Spain has ever made to a single institution, and it comes on top of the four million euros already disbursed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID),” the Ministry headed by José Manuel Albares announced in a press release.
“With this new contribution, the Government of Spain reaffirms its commitment to the Palestinian Authority as a partner for peace, redoubling its efforts to ensure its viability while the Government of Israel freezes tax revenue transfers of more than $3 billion (approximately €2.9 billion),” it continued.
On September 26, the governments of Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom announced the launch of the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Authority. Its objective is to stabilize the institution’s finances and preserve its capacity to govern, pay salaries and pensions to civil servants, provide essential services (such as hospitals in East Jerusalem and aid to the most vulnerable Palestinian families), and maintain security.
In this context, the Spanish government and the Palestinian Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding in mid-October, whereby the AECID committed to contributing two million euros to the Palestinian government for the payment of salaries and pensions of public employees through the PEGASE mechanism.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers that “a strong Palestinian Authority is the only alternative for governance in Gaza and the West Bank and the only guarantee for achieving stability, peace, and a secure environment for the entire region.”
