Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union/Vice-President of the European Commission, has stressed the key role played by the UN Palestine refugee Agency, vowing that the EU will keep up its support for Palestine refugees.

This came in a phone call held with the new Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini.

Borell and Lazzarini exchanged views on the current situation in the Middle East and challenges ahead, in particular in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The role of UNRWA as provider of front health care services, especially in Gaza, was underlined.

High Representative Borrell reaffirmed the EU's continued political and financial support to UNRWA, recalling the EU’s €82 million contribution to the Agency for 2020. He confirmed the determination of the European Union to remain a strong, reliable and predictable supporter of UNRWA.

High Representative Borrell also highlighted UNRWA's crucial role for stability and security in the region and the importance of the work of the Agency for the viability of a negotiated two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.