About the online event:

The European Union and its member states are indispensable partners to the Palestinian Authority (PA), providing it with essential assistance. Aligned with the EU’s overall external action goals, this assistance is offered to promote its values and principles and bring about positive outcomes in the promotion of peace and stability.  
 
However, EU assistance to Palestinian beneficiaries often falls short of these goals. Be it in relation to the PA itself, to the UNRWA, or to Palestinian NGOs, the EU has refrained from imposing virtually any conditions on its assistance, often invoking the stagnant Middle East peace process, thereby providing perverse incentives that tend to undermine its objectives. A shift to an approach geared towards incentivising progress and deterring harmful actions is necessary.   
 
With a renewed Action Plan on the horizon, the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies and B'nai B'rith International discuss possible necessary shifts in the EU's approach to encourage further changes of the Palestinian educational system, the notorious pay-for-slay practice, and democratic reforms necessary for civil society to flourish.

17:00 Discussants:

Antonio López-Istúriz White, MEP, Secretary General, EPP; Secretary Treasurer, Martens Centre

Tommaso Virgili, Research Fellow, WZB Berlin Social Science Centre; Research Associate, Martens Centre

Paul Stott, Fellow, European Foundation for South Asian Studies

Moderated by:

Alina Bricman, Director of EU Affairs, B'nai B'rith International