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Since its launch in 2008, the EU, EU Member States and other donors have channeled over €2.3 billion through PEGASE to support the recurrent expenditure of the Palestinian Authority (PA), with systematic, predictable and unconditional contributions to the payment of PA civil servant's salaries and pensions, social allowances to poor and vulnerable Palestinians families and unpaid bills for medical referrals to East Jerusalem hospitals. This contributed to State building as well as to social cohesion, economic and security stabilisation.

Ex-ante audits, ex-post audit, annual audits, evaluations and IT services are separately contracted to support the implementation of PEGASE Direct Financial Support (DFS) programmes.

The main objectives of the present evaluation are to provide to the EU services, contributing development partners, the Palestinian authorities and the public of:

• an overall independent assessment of the past performance of the PEGASE DFS to Recurrent Expenditures of the PA 2016 – 2017 (with particular attention to the relationship between its results and objectives and related to this, the policy coherence amongst the various EU and Member States action and an assessment of the added benefit of a joint EU and Member States support to the PA);
• key lessons and recommendations in order to improve current and future Actions.

The action to be evaluated are:

PEGASE: Direct Financial Support to Recurrent Expenditures of the Palestinian Authority 2016": EUR 171,500.

The overall objective of this temporary EU support is to maintain the viability of the two-state solution by avoiding the fiscal collapse of the PA and sustaining basic living conditions of the whole Palestinian population.

The specific objective is to support the Palestinian national development agenda and in particular:

• to support the PA to deliver to the Palestinian population essential basic services by maintaining the functioning of the administration;
• to improve the economic opportunities of poor, vulnerable and isolated population;
• to support the PA in reducing its budget deficit and implementing its reform agenda while increasing the PA's transparency and accountability

"PEGASE: Direct Financial Support to Recurrent Expenditures of the Palestinian Authority 2017": EUR 158,100

The overall objective of this special measure is to maintain the viability of the two-state solution by avoiding the fiscal collapse of the Palestinian Authority and sustaining basic living conditions of the whole Palestinian population.

The specific objective is to support the Palestinian national development agenda and in particular:

• to support the Palestinian Authority to deliver to the Palestinian population essential basic services by maintaining the functioning of the administration;
• to improve the economic opportunities of poor, vulnerable and isolated population; and
• to support the Palestinian Authority in reducing its budget deficit and implementing its reform agenda while increasing the Palestinian Authority's transparency and accountability.