{"id":214887,"date":"2019-04-30T15:50:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T19:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=214887"},"modified":"2019-06-10T15:53:13","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T19:53:13","slug":"speech-by-european-commission-commissioner-hahn-at-the-ahlc-plenary-meeting","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/speech-by-european-commission-commissioner-hahn-at-the-ahlc-plenary-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech by European Commission Commissioner Hahn at the AHLC Plenary Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a non-United Nations document. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ provides these documents only as a convenience for reference purposes, and the inclusion of a document does not imply the endorsement of its content by the United Nations.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear colleagues,<\/span><\/p>\n

We are at a\u00a0decisive moment for the two-state solution<\/span><\/strong>, for respect of international law and for the multilateral system. They are all linked. And they all matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was able to discuss recently in the White House in Washington the thinking on the way forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

In our view a\u00a0lasting peace\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>will not be reached via unilateral acts, the annexation of occupied territory or continued settlement construction. Nor can it be attained without democratic renewal and greater accountability on the Palestinian side.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than ever,\u00a0securing the future and legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority, bringing Gaza and the West Bank back together<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0and creating the basis for a future Palestinian state require our political attention and financial support.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>The EU has always been a reliable and predictable partner and our key policy positions have not changed. We do not see an acceptable alternative to the two state solution. \u00a0\u00a0We remain committed to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA. \u00a0\u00a0In 2018, we were the largest single donor to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and this year we again frontloaded our regular contribution, to ensure Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA sustainability, while stepping up our assistance to reform of the organisation.<\/span><\/p>\n

AND, since we continue to consider Jerusalem as the future capital for two states, we support the Palestinian character of East Jerusalem, as demonstrated through our increased annual allocations. The EU is continuing to contribute around 340 million euros a year, last year with 145 million for Gaza alone. But this level of EU cooperation\u00a0is obviously linked to the perspective of a two state solution.<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0We cannot just finance an unsustainable status quo, or worse, the dismantling of the very possibility of a future Palestinian state.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are all aware of the\u00a0fiscal crisis the PA<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is facing and of the potential human, social and security consequences.\u00a0Both sides need to move towards a solution.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s decision to withhold clearance revenues<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0violates current arrangements.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, we do\u00a0not support<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0the system of Palestinian\u00a0payments to \u201cprisoners and martyrs.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

We are\u00a0ready to work<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0with the Palestinian Authority to\u00a0see how beneficiaries\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>of the current scheme could be\u00a0integrated\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>on the basis of need rather than any other criteria\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/em>into the PA\u2019s regular social allowance system<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Should the PA and Israel not find a way out and should the PA\u2019s fiscal situation so require, we would be ready to offer, as an interim measure, to any state, including Israel, to \u00a0use the EU\u2019s PEGASE system of direct financial support to channel funds, in the secure knowledge that they benefit vetted individuals, including those that are in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, aside from the current short term issue, we also need to see real discussions between the parties to bring the Paris Protocol arrangements in line with the realities of the present day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaza needs sustainable solutions not endless injections of humanitarian aid. This is why the EU has invested in the\u00a0water and energy sectors<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

This morning, we co-chaired with the PA and the Islamic Development Bank an information session on the\u00a0Gaza Central Desalination Plant.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>There is good progress, a demonstration that common ground between the PA and Israel creates conditions in which the international community can support long-term solutions that meet shared security needs, development and humanitarian concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite the agreements reached on this project, I would like to point to the the analytical work by the World Bank on the the negative economic impact of the current dual use regime. \u00a0The EU consolidated list on dual use goods is internationally recognised and could provide a useful way forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

As I say every time we meet, the best intentions by donors cannot deliver the results that could be achieved by progress on Palestinian reconciliation and on conditions of movement and access. These are the true keys to tackling the structural impediments to Palestinian development.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thank you for your attention.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a non-United Nations document. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ provides these documents only as a convenience for reference purposes, and the inclusion of a document does not imply the endorsement of its content by the United Nations. Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear colleagues, We are at a\u00a0decisive moment for the two-state solution, for respect of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2773],"document-source":[3693,2485,2505],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,1937],"entity":[1889],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-214887","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-speech","document-source-ad-hoc-liaison-committee-ahlc","document-source-european-commission","document-source-european-union-eu","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-economic-issues","entity-intergovernmental-organization-or-multilateral","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/214887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/214887\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=214887"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=214887"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=214887"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=214887"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=214887"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=214887"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=214887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}