Brussels, November 20, 2025 – The European Union hosted the first meeting of the newly established Palestine Donor Group (PDG) in Brussels on Thursday, bringing together ministers and senior officials from around 60 countries and international organizations. The gathering aimed to advance Palestinian Authority (PA) reforms, strengthen governance, and support recovery and reconstruction efforts in the West Bank and Gaza amid the fragile post-conflict environment.
The high-level meeting was co-chaired by EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa. It represented a major milestone in the implementation of the EU’s €1.6 billion Multiannual Comprehensive Programme for Palestinian Recovery and Resilience, formally adopted in April 2025 and covering the period 2025–2027.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underscored the EU’s long-term commitment, stating that the initiative reflects Europe’s role as the largest provider of external assistance to the Palestinian people and its firm support for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state built on a reformed and effective Palestinian Authority. “We are committed to working towards a Palestinian state with a reformed, well-functioning Palestinian Authority at its core. We will continue to support all efforts to stabilise the region, including West Bank and Gaza transitional governance,” she said.
During the meeting, the Palestinian Authority presented detailed updates on its ongoing fiscal, economic, and governance reforms, including measures to improve revenue collection, reduce debt, enhance transparency, and fight corruption. Progress was also reported in critical public services: education (serving over 1.2 million students), health (including a 15 % increase in vaccination coverage since early 2025), and private-sector development initiatives that have generated thousands of new jobs through microfinance and SME support programs.
A significant portion of the discussions focused on the humanitarian and political situation in Gaza, especially in light of the UN Security Council’s adoption earlier this week of Resolution 2803, which endorsed a comprehensive plan to end the conflict, establish transitional governance mechanisms, and lay the groundwork for reconstruction and stabilization.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas emphasized that robust, reformed PA institutions are indispensable for lasting peace. “Reform of the Palestinian Authority is fundamental for it to govern a future Palestinian state,” she declared, adding that the recent Security Council resolution “offers a real chance to move beyond the fragile truce toward a stable future.”
On the margins of the conference, the EU and several member states — Germany, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Spain — formally signed new contribution agreements worth more than €82 million to PEGASE, the EU’s financial mechanism that channels donor assistance directly to the Palestinian Authority under strict oversight and auditing procedures. With these latest commitments, total pledges through PEGASE in 2025 now exceed €88 million, including earlier contributions from Finland, Ireland, Italy, and Spain.
Since its launch in 2008, PEGASE has delivered €3.7 billion in support to Palestinian institutions, funding civil servant salaries, social allowances for vulnerable families, and essential services such as hospitals and schools.
Participants reaffirmed that stabilization, transitional governance, and reconstruction efforts in both Gaza and the West Bank must remain centered on the Palestinian Authority’s reform agenda in order to ensure unified, legitimate Palestinian governance and prevent fragmentation.
The creation of the Palestine Donor Group itself stems from commitments made at the high-level international conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, as well as from President von der Leyen’s State of the Union address earlier that month, in which she outlined Europe’s determination to play a leading role in supporting a two-state solution.
Delegates from key regional actors, including Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey — all instrumental in brokering and sustaining the current ceasefire — stressed the importance of coordinated international assistance to avoid aid diversion and to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.
While challenges remain — including Israel’s continued opposition to PA administration in post-war Gaza and domestic political constraints in several donor countries — Palestinian representatives expressed cautious optimism that the Donor Group’s coordinated approach will help affirm Palestinian territorial unity and advance the goal of an independent, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state.
As the meeting concluded, participants agreed on a roadmap that includes quarterly progress reviews of the PA Reform Matrix, continued close cooperation with UN agencies (particularly UNRWA), and alignment with the transitional mechanisms foreseen under UN Security Council Resolution 2803. The EU also reiterated its readiness to mobilize additional resources, including potential loans from the European Investment Bank, to stimulate private-sector growth and job creation in the Palestinian territories.
For millions of Palestinians still grappling with the aftermath of two years of devastating conflict — destroyed homes, interrupted education, and severe shortages of water, electricity, and medical care — the pledges made in Brussels represent a tangible step toward recovery. Whether those pledges translate into sustainable peace, however, will depend on political will, continued reform momentum, and the ability of the international community to maintain unified pressure for a just and lasting resolution to the decades-long conflict.
