The European Commission has approved a €252.5 million assistance package to the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian refugees, the first part of the EU's 2016 annual support package in favor of Palestine.

In a statement on Tuesday, the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini said, “Through this package, the EU supports the daily lives of Palestinians in the fields of education and health, protecting the poorest families and also providing the Palestinian refugees across the country with access to essential services.”

She added that nevertheless, “These steps are not enough; Palestinian institutions must continue to grow stronger, become more transparent, more accountable and more democratic.”

Mogherini underscored the Union’s commitment to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state living side by side, in peace and security, with Israel and the other neighbors.

Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said, “The EU remains firm in its commitment to Palestinians and actively supports a two-state solution.”

He added the current European assistance aims to ensure the functioning of the Palestinian Authority and to support vulnerable Palestinian people, including Palestinian refugees.

Under today's package, €170.5 million will be channeled directly to the Palestinian Authority, through the PEGASE mechanism, to support the Palestinian Authority in delivering improved health and education services, the statement added.

The remaining €82 million will be a contribution to the Program Budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides essential services for Palestinian refugees across the region.

This support aims at offering improved access to essential public services and increased livelihood opportunities to the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees.

The EU said a second package of measures in favor of the Palestinians will be announced later in the year.

(WAFA)