(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, JANUARY 25 - EU High Representative for
Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton and the general commissioner of
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Filippo Grandi, today signed
an agreement in Gaza regarding a financing of 55.4 million
euros, the largest single donation ever received by the
organisation. The money will be used to guarantee basic services
like education, healthcare and to improve life in general in the
refugee camps for Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Jordan,
Syria and Lebanon.
''The continuing support provided by the EU to UNRWA is crucial
in our strategy to bring peace to the region,'' said Ashton in a
short ceremony in Gaza. Ashton called the UN agency ''the
driving force that guarantees organisation and provides
essential services."
Filippo Grandi expressed his gratitude to the EU for the support
that allows ''the most vulnerable Palestinians to be less poor.
The concrete impact of this contribution is even more important because it comes at a time when millions of people in the region are asking for better living conditions and for more opportunities." The EU is the largest multilateral donator to give international assistance to the Palestinian refugees. In the 2000-2011 period the EU allocated 1.2 billion euros to the Agency, not counting contributions from single member states. (ANSA).
The concrete impact of this contribution is even more important because it comes at a time when millions of people in the region are asking for better living conditions and for more opportunities." The EU is the largest multilateral donator to give international assistance to the Palestinian refugees. In the 2000-2011 period the EU allocated 1.2 billion euros to the Agency, not counting contributions from single member states. (ANSA).
