by Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff
The Palestinian Authority is the only body that receives European Union funds regardless of its human rights record or economic performance," European Parliament budget committee chairman says.
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European
Commission headquarters in Brussels
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Photo credit: Reuters
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Citing the dangers of corruption and lack of transparency,
European Parliament Budget Committee Chairman Michael Theurer authored an op-ed
in The Wall Street Journal last week calling on the European Union to reconsider
its funding to the Palestinian Authority.
Under the Oslo Accords, the EU has provided funding to the
Palestinian Authority since its creation in 1994 and is now the Palestinian
Authority's largest donor. However, Theurer said, there were significant issues
with the manner in which the Palestinian Authority receives its funds.
"In its report, issued in December, the European Court of
Auditors revealed major dysfunctions in the management of EU financial support
to the Palestinian Authority, and called for a serious overhaul of the funding
mechanism," the German diplomat wrote.
Among the issues Theurer raised is the EU's lack of
regulation as to where its financial assistance goes, noting that "the
Palestinian Authority is the only body that receives EU funds regardless of its
human rights record or economic performance."
Theurer cited unethical uses of EU funds such as paying the
salaries of Palestinian Authority officials living in the Gaza Strip, who in
fact do not work at all and have not for years since the Hamas takeover in 2007,
and using funds to pay prisoners convicted of carrying out terrorist attacks
salaries five times the average wage for West Bank workers.
Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=16843
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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