Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Palestinian finance minister presses EU on financial aid

Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayyad told the European Union on Wednesday (11 April) that €1 billion of international aid was needed this year if a humanitarian crisis among Palestinian people is to be avoided.

"This is assistance we need to get back on our feet," said the minister adding "These are very difficult times for the Palestinian people."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

He warned there would be a "devastating" outcome if the international community did not put its hands in its pockets for the Palestinians.

For its part, the EU praised Mr Fayyad's personal commitment to peace but made it clear there would be no sudden change in its policies towards the Unity government, formed last month.

The Unity government consists of the moderate Fatah movement and the militant Hamas group, which the EU considers a terrorist organisation.

The EU was the biggest aid donor to the Palestinian government until Hamas was elected into power in March 2006.

The Middle East Quartet - the EU, the US, the UN and Russia - then suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Bypassing the government, the EU now pays millions of euros via the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM).

External relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner made it clear this mechanism would stay in place for as long as necessary – last year the EU put €700 million through the system which assists the neediest people.

"I made it clear that possible reengagement does not mean resuming payments overnight," said Ms Ferrero-Waldner in Brussels on Wednesday after meeting Mr Fayyad.

Mr Fayyad won some concessions on technical assistance for his ministry but Ms Ferrero-Waldner repeated the international demands that the Hamas group needs to fulfil before bloc will engage with it.

She said that until Hamas recognises Israel's right to exist, renounces violence and adheres to former agreements then the EU will only deal with what it considers to be pro-Western members of the government.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told

Italian central banker Piero Cipollone in his first monetary policy speech since joining the ECB's board in November, said that the bank should be ready to "swiftly dial back our restrictive monetary policy stance."

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us