Urgent review of financial assistance for Palestine announced by the Commission
12.10.2023
Question for written answer E-003034/2023/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 138
Pedro Marques (S&D), Brando Benifei (S&D), Udo Bullmann (S&D), Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D), Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D), Evin Incir (S&D), Camilla Laureti (S&D), Margarida Marques (S&D), Alessandra Moretti (S&D), Nikos Papandreou (S&D), Tonino Picula (S&D), Giuliano Pisapia (S&D), Thijs Reuten (S&D), Franco Roberti (S&D), Inma Rodríguez-Piñero (S&D), Nacho Sánchez Amor (S&D), Sergei Stanishev (S&D), Patrizia Toia (S&D), Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D), Elena Yoncheva (S&D), Carlos Zorrinho (S&D)
Following the Hamas terrorist attacks, Commissioner Várhelyi tweeted on 9 October that the Commission was reviewing its development portfolio, suspending all payments and postponing all new budget proposals until further notice. That very day, the Commission contradicted him in a press release, and a tweet by Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Borrell confirmed that the Commission would not suspend payments and that the humanitarian aid confirmed by Commissioner Lenarčič aid would continue. Given the foregoing:
- 1.Could the Commission explain Commissioner Várhelyi’s intentions, his legal basis for suspending payments on his own and the contradiction between its press release and Commissioner Várhelyi’s tweet?
- 2.Could the Commission clarify the precise scope of its decision to review the channeling and use of EU money for the Palestinian population and if there will be an impact assessment on how this affects the Palestinian population and proper democratic oversight by Parliament?
- 3.The Commission claims to have the strongest safeguards to ensure proper use and channeling of EU funding. Do these safeguards have to be reviewed now because the Commission has an indication that EU funding could have indirectly reached Hamas or affiliated terrorist organisations in Gaza or the West Bank?
Submitted: 12.10.2023