The European Union has reached an agreement with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to release 50 million euros for the institution, the European Commission announced on Friday March 1. Since the agency was accused by Israel of having among its employees terrorists who participated in the October 7 attacks, its international funding was threatened, in particular that of Europeans.
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To enable the payment of European funds, the Commission has “ reached an agreement with » UNRWA (the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees in the Middle East) allowing the release of 50 million euros.
The agency is weakened since Israel accused twelve of its employees in January of being involved in the October 7 attack launched by Hamas and which triggered the ongoing war between Israel and this Palestinian Islamist movement in power in Gaza.
Faced with these accusations, Unrwa immediately separated from these employees but very quickly a dozen countries, including major donors such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden, had announced to suspend their funding to the agency. At the end of January, the European Union called for an audit of the functioning of UNRWA. The Commission then specified that it would decide, or not, to suspend its funding based on the results of the UN investigation carried out in the wake of the Israeli accusations.
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Request for guarantees on controls
The Commission promised a month ago not to take a decision on the European Union’s financial contribution to UNRWA before the end of the investigation. But she still asked for guarantees on the UN agency’s control systems, reports our correspondent in Brussels, Pierre Benazet.
This Friday, it accepts the conditions set a month ago by the Commission, namely to first strengthen its internal investigations department. Then the agency says to itself “ ready for a review of its employees to confirm that none participated in the attacks » of October 7 and “ that additional controls are established to limit this risk in the future », Specifies the press release. Unrwa also accepts a “ audit carried out by external experts appointed by the EU “.
In return, the Commission announced that it would “ At the beginning of next week » to a payment of 50 million euros. Subsequently, in view of the application of the agreement, an additional 32 million will be paid, i.e. the remainder of the envelope planned by the EU for UNRWA in 2024.
A decision that comes at the right time »
This decision ” comes at the right time », reacted on X (ex-Twitter) the general commissioner of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini, eight days after indicating that his organization had reached a “ breaking point with Israel’s repeated calls for its dismantling and freezing of donor funding in the face of unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza “.
The EU had not strictly speaking frozen its funding: no payments were planned for February. On the other hand, seven European countries have suspended their contributions including Italy, the Netherlands and especially Germany, the largest donor to the UN agency after the United States.
Beyond its support for UNRWA, created in 1949, the European Commission also announced on Friday that it would allocate an additional 68 million euros in emergency aid to the Palestinians in 2024.
Administering number of schools and hospitals, UNRWA employs some 30,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. Removing funding from the UN agency would be “ disproportionate and dangerous “. He ” would endanger hundreds of thousands of lives », Estimated the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell at the beginning of February.
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