2023-10-10 06:21:00
The EU Commission has qualified its announcements regarding freezing development aid payments to the Palestinians. A press release from the Brussels authorities distributed on Monday evening stated that since no payments were currently planned, there would be no suspension of payments for the time being.
Earlier in the followingnoon, the responsible EU Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi announced a review of EU development aid for the Palestinians via the short message service X and announced that all payments would be suspended immediately. A spokesman for the authority confirmed this followingwards.
In the evening, commission circles said that in view of the attack on Israel by the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, it had actually been agreed not to pay out any money until the review of the aid had been completed. But it is also true that there are currently no payments pending. Varhelyi communicated the decision on his own authority. The original plan was to first inform the member states so that the issue might then be discussed at the special meeting of foreign ministers with EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell planned for this Tuesday.
Opinions on the topic vary widely across the EU. EU Council President Charles Michel said late on Monday evening following a telephone conversation with UN Secretary-General António Guterres: “We must not stop the urgently needed development aid and humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians. This might be exploited by Hamas and increase tensions and hatred.”
EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell made similar comments. He wrote: “Suspension of payments – a punishment for the entire Palestinian people – would have damaged EU interests in the region and only further emboldened terrorists.” In his view, the Commission’s new communication makes it clear that no payments due will be suspended due to the review. (DPA)
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