In its Report on discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section III – Commission and executive agencies and the ninth, tenth and eleventh European Development Funds, the European Parliament places particular emphasis on the need to address antisemitism in educational materials used within Palestinian curricula.
The Parliament recalls that education is a central pillar of peacebuilding, coexistence, and the preparation for a negotiated two-state solution, and stresses its role in countering extremism, intolerance, and radical ideologies. In this context, it underlines that EU financial assistance and political engagement should support education that promotes tolerance and rejects antisemitism and incitement to violence.
Welcoming continued engagement by the European Commission with the Palestinian Authority on curriculum reform, the Parliament acknowledges reported progress in 2025, including revisions of textbooks by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education to align with UNESCO standards. It notes updates to Grade 12 materials and broader revisions to Grades 1–4, as well as new learning materials published in late 2024 and 2025 currently under review by the Union.
However, the Parliament explicitly recalls the necessity for the Palestinian Authority to remove all educational content that fails to meet UNESCO standards, particularly materials containing antisemitism, incitement to violence, glorification of jihad and martyrdom, or rejection of peaceful conflict resolution. It stresses that such content is incompatible with the values underpinning EU cooperation and educational support.
The report further insists that EU funding for education must be conditional on compliance with UNESCO standards and explicitly calls for safeguards ensuring that no EU funds are used, directly or indirectly, to support educational materials that include antisemitic references or that incite hatred and violence.
The Parliament urges the Commission to ensure that its assessments are based on transparent, public, and verifiable evidence, and to publish the results of its reviews, reinforcing accountability in the use of EU external financial assistance.
At the same time, the Parliament urges the European Commission, in the context of delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population, to cooperate with reliable partners on the ground to ensure the secure and uninterrupted delivery of assistance, while guaranteeing that no EU funds are allocated to individuals or organisations linked to terrorist or extremist movements opposed to the Union’s fundamental values.
The report references allegations that 19 of approximately 13,000 employees of UNRWA in Gaza were involved in the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023.
Through the “discharge procedure”, the European Parliament exercises democratic oversight over the budget’s implementation, holding the Commission and other EU institutions accountable for the management and disbursement of EU funds.
Based on reports from the Commission and the European Court of Auditors (ECA), the Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) reviews the financial management of the EU budget in a given financial year, considers irregularities and holds hearings with the relevant officials. Refusal of discharge can result in remedial action, stricter financial controls, or political consequences.
