The European Commission must formally respond within six weeks to a new parliamentary question challenging UNRWA’s claims of reform, as crucial UN votes approach
GENEVA, October 26, 2026 - Thirteen members of the European Parliament have submitted an official parliamentary question to the European Commission, citing a recent UN Watch investigation that refuted UNRWA’s claims of implementing reforms to address terrorism, antisemitism and incitement within the UN agency.
The parliamentary challenge, led by Swedish MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe and co-signed by 12 other EU lawmakers, demands that the Commission explain how it verifies UNRWA’s claims of reform and whether future EU funding will be conditioned on independently verified progress.
The parliamentary question, numbered E-004153/2026 and submitted on October 13, forms part of the European Parliament’s public record. Under Rule 144, the European Commission is required to provide a written answer within six weeks of receiving the question. Both the question and the Commission’s response are published publicly.
The lawmakers cite UN Watch’s recent report on UNRWA’s implementation of the 50 recommendations issued in April 2024 by an independent review led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
Although UNRWA claimed this summer to have implemented 41 of the 50 recommendations, UN Watch’s investigation found that many purported reforms existed largely on paper, while serious problems involving staff neutrality, terrorist affiliations, educational incitement and internal accountability remained unresolved.
“The European Commission must act when UNRWA misleads about reforms,” Teodorescu Måwe wrote on X, announcing the parliamentary initiative.
“UNRWA claimed that 41 of these 50 recommendations had been implemented, but UN Watch’s review provides clear evidence to the contrary.”
Teodorescu Måwe said she and her 12 colleagues were demanding answers on whether the Commission would rely on objective, independent sources rather than UNRWA’s own reports when assessing its claimed progress.
The parliamentary question asks the Commission to address three issues: how it assesses UN Watch’s findings; what independent evidence it uses to verify implementation of the Colonna recommendations; and whether it will consider conditioning or suspending future funding when reforms cannot be independently demonstrated.
New Evidence Raises Questions About UNRWA Reform
The parliamentary initiative comes amid continuing revelations about UNRWA personnel and educational practices.
In June, UNRWA announced that it had terminated the employment of 70 Hamas-linked staff members in Gaza, citing operational safety and security concerns. An additional 1,500 UNRWA staff members remain under investigation by USAID for ties to terror organizations.
Just days ago, a new video emerged from within Gaza featuring an UNRWA teacher who described her colleagues “aggressively pushing” ideologies of killing and violence onto their students. Her testimony raises fresh concerns about whether the agency’s promised educational reforms have taken effect in classrooms.
“UNRWA cannot claim to have solved its neutrality problem simply by rewriting policies while evidence of terrorist affiliations and incitement continues to emerge,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch.
“European taxpayers deserve accountability. The Commission must not confuse the adoption of new policies with their actual implementation. UNRWA cannot demonstrate that it has eliminated terrorist infiltration and incitement from its operations. The EU and its member states must end their financial support for an agency the foments war and terror.”
Growing European Opposition Ahead of UNRWA Mandate Votes
The parliamentary challenge comes ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly deliberations on UNRWA, following a significant shift in European voting patterns last year.
In 2025, Germany, Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Latvia withheld support for renewing UNRWA’s mandate for the first time. Germany’s Der Spiegel described the development as a “remarkable political shift.”
In a separate UNRWA resolution, Austria, Romania and Lithuania also joined those six countries in withholding support, breaking with the previous pattern of unanimous backing among all 27 EU member states.
UN Watch hopes the momentum will continue during this year’s votes, with additional European governments reconsidering their support for the agency.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led Board of Peace, overseeing plans for Gaza’s postwar future, has publicly rejected a future institutional role for UNRWA. In July, the Board declared: “UNRWA has no place in the new Gaza.”
The Board has since reiterated that it intends to work with alternative partners for Gaza’s reconstruction and humanitarian needs.
“Last year, European governments began breaking with decades of automatic support for UNRWA,” said Neuer. “Now 13 European lawmakers are demanding that the Commission confront the evidence. We are optimistic that more European governments will break from decades of automatic support for UNRWA when it comes time for another vote before the United Nations.”
“The people of Gaza deserve schools that teach peace instead of hatred, and humanitarian institutions free from terrorist influence. Europe should support those goals rather than continue funding an agency that is incapable of reform.”
