The Commission finalises the review of EU aid to Palestine

The Commission published the results of its review of the ongoing EU financial assistance for Palestine, announced two days after the Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, highlighted, that “The EU is the largest international donor of aid to the Palestinians. After the terrible events of 7 October, a careful review of our financial assistance was necessary. This review has confirmed that the safeguards in place are effective. Work is now ongoing on the design of our future support to the Palestinians in view of the changing and still evolving situation.”

The review has shown that the Commission controls and existing safeguards in place- which have been significantly strengthened in the past years – work well and no evidence has been found to date that money has been diverted for unintended purposes.

The review followed a two-step approach. The first operational screening took place to assess the feasibility of projects in light of the new situation on the ground. Under this step, the review has identified a list of non-feasible projects for an amount of €75.6 million, which will be reprogrammed in support of Palestinians in light of new priorities to be identified on the ground. It concerns mainly large infrastructural projects, including Gas for Gaza, the Gaza Desalination plant, and access to water services, whose implementation is not feasible in the current context.

As part of the second step, the Commission carried out a risk assessment, for which all implementing partners were requested to provide information about their control mechanisms in place. In the current context, the Commission has identified some additional measures, such as the inclusion of relevant anti-incitement contractual clauses in all new contracts and ensuring the monitoring of their strict application at all times. This could notably be performed through a third-party monitoring of the beneficiaries.

While additional information is being sought from all grant beneficiaries and pillar-assessed organizations in order to assess if possible adjustments might be necessary, ongoing support will continue to be implemented with the organizations that have provided the clarifications requested and reassurances on the safeguards in place, notably EU Member States Agencies and International Financial Institutions. Beneficiaries subject to allegations of incitement to hatred and violence after the 7 October 2023 events were requested to comment on the allegations brought against them. This concerns notably two projects with Civil Society Organizations. Payments will be processed once satisfactory clarifications have been provided, in line with the Financial Regulation.