The internal negotiations had been long and hard-fought, but on Friday, March 1, the European Commission finally announced paying €50 million to finance the budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The EU executive has also proposed allocating an additional €68 million in humanitarian aid, on top of the €125 million in aid planned for 2024. This is set to be distributed locally by the Red Cross or Red Crescent.

Initially, the European Union was due to pay its annual €82 million subsidy to the UN agency on Thursday February 29, but Israel's revelation on January 26 that 12 of the UNRWA's 13,000 employees had taken part in the deadly attack on October 7, 2023, led to intense debate within the Commission, as in all donor countries. The question of the continuation of this financial aid was clearly raised.

At a time when the US, the agency's largest single donor, and some 15 other Western countries have announced a freeze on their aid donations, depriving it of some €460 million in funding – half of its annual budget – the Commission's attitude came under scrutiny. Various European leaders insisted that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen find a compromise solution to continue the subsidies.

Within the Commission itself, a genuine struggle broke out between the Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi, the EU neighborhood and engagement commissioner, who wanted to suspend all payments; and the EU's head of diplomacy, Josep Borrell, and humanitarian aid commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, both of whom called for continued funding of the agency. On a number of occasions, these latter two officials had expressed the view that the organization was irreplaceable in the Gaza Strip, and that there was no alternative way of bringing aid to the Gazan population.

In order to release part of the funds, Brussels stated that it had reached an agreement with the UNRWA on the conduct of internal investigations – to be carried out by the United Nations – and welcomed the investigation led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. "The second and third tranches of EUR 16 million will be released in line with the implementation of this agreement," the European executive body stated.

Following the announcement, Philippe Lazzarini, the director of the UNRWA, wrote on X that the grant "comes at a critical time [...] to maintain lifesaving and essential services for Palestine refugees," adding that "the full disbursement of the EU contribution is key to the agency's ability to maintain its operations in a very volatile area."

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