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EU: Commission to announce 436 mln euros in Gaza aid
(AKI) - The European Commission is to announce 436 million euros in aid for the Palestinian people at a conference in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Tuesday. The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinians and the EU executive announced the donation on Friday.The 'Conference in support of the Palestinian economy for the Reconstruction of Gaza' will be co-chaired by Egypt and Norway and representatives of all international donors to the Palestinians will attend it, the European Commission said. Other members of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators: United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg will also attend the donor meeting. EU funds earmarked for the Palestinians in 2009 will be spent on humanitarian aid and the rapid reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, which was devastated by Israel's three-week military offensive which ended on 18 January. The commission says rubble and and unexploded ordinances urgently need to be removed from the coastal strip, while further assistance is needed for children left traumatised by the conflict. The commission said the EU will also support a "cash for It will also continue supporting the Palestinian Authority in implementing overall Palestinian Reform and Development Plan as well as programmes carried out by the UN's Palestinian refugee agency. "Our priority today is to adequately respond to the disastrous humanitarian situation in Gaza," said EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. "By offering a substantial aid package we confirm our generosity and commitment towards the Palestinians." She stressed that the ending of Israel's crippling blockade of the aid-dependent Gaza Strip was a major priority. "In the aftermath of the crisis, a clear priority remains the immediate and unconditional reopening of all Gaza crossings on a regular and predictable basis, for the flow of humanitarian and commercial goods as well as people,"Ferrero-Waldner stated. She said she would urge donors at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference to use the EU's PEGASE financial mechanism to transfer aid rapidly to Palestinians in Gaza. PEGASE is currently used to provide fuel for electricity generation, for the payment of social allowances to 24,000 vulnerable families and the salaries of over 28,000 civil servants and pensioners. The mechanism has enabled aid worth 421 million euros from the EU and 130 million euros from other donors to reach the Palestinians since it was set up in January 2007. Posted by: Fred 2009-03-01 |
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