Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 2013 Report of the European Court of Auditors <i>EU Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority </i>said (1) that a number of civil servants in Gaza were being paid without going to work, and (2) that the EU was not using its leverage on the Palestinian Authority to promote reforms; and what assessment they have made of the EU allocation of 252.5 million euros to the Palestinian Authority in 2016 through PEGASE.

The European Court of Auditors report of the EU’s Direct Financial Support to the Palestinian Authority assessed the European External Action Service’s and the European Commission’s management of the direct financial support provided through the PEGASE mechanism to the Palestinian Authority. The report is accessible in the public domain.

The UK is supportive of the EU’s programme of financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority, which supports delivery of essential basic services to Palestinians and helps maintain the viability of the two-state solution.