Sweden and the EU's Aid to Palestinians

Dick Erixon is the editor-in-chief of Samtiden, a conservative Swedish website put out by the Sweden Democrat party. Erixon is now a member of the European Parliament and has tackled the issue of EU funding for the Palestinian Authority, which the EU wants to increase. Given the revelations that part of this money is used by the Palestinian Authority to pay families of terrorists whio commit acts of terror against Israel, Erixon is asking how the EU intends to ensure that European taxpayer money is not used to promote terrorism. Seems like a reasonable question to me.

The below article in Samtiden by Erixon is translated by Fousesquawk. (Visuals are by Fousesquawk.)

By Dick Erixon  24 July 2024

As a member of the European Parliament, I am now asking Ursula von der Leyen and the Commission if they can guarantee that the EU’s new aid funding is not used to finance terrorism.

Post: Despite the fact that financial aid from Sweden and Europe is used to promote Palestinian terror, the EU now wants to increase the payments. The need to increase financial aid has never been so great according to the EU’s foreign affairs head, Josep  Borrell. The Palestinians’ budget problem has gotten worse since several countries have stopped aid payments when it was discovered that money is being used to spread terror. Part of this funding has been used to pay families of persons convicted of terrorism. The fact that terror families receive higher payments if the crime is worse, therefore, gives individuals an incentive to commit terror crimes.

In a declaration of purpose, The EU Commission makes it clear that they will pay out billions to support the Palestinian Authority’s “reform work”. A new Palestinian strategy would, according to the Commission, “stabilize the Palestinian Authority and economy in the West Bank through a substantial and trustworthy reform agenda …….which lays the groundwork for recovery and builds resilience”.

400 million to be sent immediately

The EU’s extra bill for the tax-payers will be 400 million euros just for July to September this year. This short-term support will then be replaced with the “comprehensive program for Palestinian recovery and resilience”. The EU Commission promises immediate and sharp proposals when the EU Parliament opens after the holidays.  Thus, Ursula von der Leyen wants to ensure that the payouts from the new aid program begin this year.

As usual, there are promises of gold and green forests. The EU’s new aid program will ensure that a balanced budget is achieved in 2026 and that fiscal sustainability is then ensured. The Palestinian bureaucracy will become effective, corruption will be fought, the rule of law and transparency will be strengthened, social insurance and the education system will be reformed, the business climate will be improved, and the foundation for a free market economy will be strengthened.

All this must be done here at home in Sweden and the rest of Europe.

I have promised to examine how your tax money is used by the EU, and that is what I will do. As your watchdog in the EU Parliament, I have submitted a written question to the EU Commission as to how they intend to ensure that none of these billions in aid is used to promote terror.

I await the answer with (bated breath).