European Union will announce €1.6 billion in aid to the Palestinian Authority
The European Commissioner for Mediterranean Affairs, Dubravka Šuica, told the Financial Times that the European Union will announce today (Monday) financial aid amounting to €1.6 billion for the Palestinian Authority.
According to Šuica, €1.2 billion will be granted to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the form of grants, and €400 million in loans from the European Investment Bank and the European Fund for Sustainable Development of the PA. The announcement is expected to coincide with a first-of-its-kind dialogue between senior European and Palestinian officials taking place today in Luxembourg.
According to the report, the meeting will be attended by PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and EU Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas. Šuica noted that €620 million will be allocated to support Palestinian authorities, and €576 million will go toward recovery and rehabilitation efforts in the West Bank and Gaza.
She stated that the aim of the initiative is, among other things, to remove obstacles for small and medium-sized businesses in the PA and to ensure infrastructure development. “Our main goal is to have a democratic and transparent government, both in Gaza and the West Bank,” Šuica added.
Ishai Bar-Yosef is a KAN 11 News correspondent.
