Strengthening the Palestinian Monetary Authority and its role to support the stability, transparency, accountability and the digital transition of the...

EU Twinning Call EuropeAid to strengthen the Palestine Monetary Authority and support stability, transparency, accountability and the digital transition of Palestine's financial sector. The total EU-funded budget is €2,000,000 and the project duration is 25 months (22 months implementation plus 3 months closure). Eligible applicants are public administrations and mandated bodies from EU Member States applying through their National Contact Points for Twinning. The deadline for submission to the Contracting Authority is 31 August 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time and the implementing agency is the Office of the EU Representative in West Bank and Gaza (UNRWA).

What it funds

Summary

EU twinning action to strengthen the PMA to support stability, transparency, accountability and the digital transition of Palestine's financial sector. Technical cooperation covers digital payments, virtual assets and CBDC preparedness, public-private partnerships for payment infrastructure, and modernisation of the Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP).

Total EU budget:€2,000,000 for the twinning project (implementation 22 months plus 3 months closure) PMA Twinning Fiche ¹

Who can apply

Only public administrations and mandated bodies of EU Member States may apply through their National Contact Points for Twinning. Applications are submitted by an EU Member State administration (lead applicant) that will propose a project leader, resident twinning adviser and component leaders.

Key facts

1. 1Call identifier: EuropeAid (Twinning reference PS 25 NDICI FI 01 26)
2. 2Deadline for submission by Member State National Contact Points: 31 August 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time
3. 3Provisional notification of award: 30 September 2026
4. 4Project duration: 25 months (22 months implementation + 3 months closure)
5. 5Implementing/contracting agency: Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA)

Selected Member State administration will implement a twinning team including a high-level Project Leader, a Resident Twinning Adviser (resident in Palestine) and Component Leaders/short-term experts from EU central banking or supervisory authorities.

The action complements existing national strategies and programs (National Payment Systems Framework 2026–2030, Palestine Financial Inclusion Strategy, National AML/CFT Strategy) and targets institutional capacity, digital payment resilience, regulatory frameworks for virtual assets and PPP models for payment infrastructure.

Footnotes

1. 1Call fiche and annexes available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: ec.europa.eu. Submission must follow the Twinning Manual and National Contact Point procedures.

Core Information

Summary

Title:Strengthening the Palestinian Monetary Authority and its role to support the stability, transparency, accountability and the digital transition of the financial sector in Palestine. Reference: EuropeAid (Twinning). Instrument: Twinning under PEGASE direct financial support. Total EU budget allocated: €2,000,000. Geographic area: Palestine (West Bank and Gaza). Project duration: 25 months (22 months implementation + 3 months closure). Deadline for submission of Member State Twinning proposals to the Contracting Authority: 31 August 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. Provisional notification date of results: 30 September 2026. Contracting authority operational contact: Office of the European Union Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA), Programme Officer Mr. Davide Morucci, davide.morucci@eeas.europa.eu.

Eligible Applicant Types:Only Public Administrations and Mandated bodies from EU Member States may apply through their National Contact Points for Twinning. The applicant is therefore an EU Member State public administration (central bank, ministry, regulatory authority or similar public body) or a mandated public administration designated in the Twinning Manual. Individual organisations (e.g., universities, private firms, NGOs) cannot apply directly as lead applicants; they may be mobilised as experts by the applying Member State administration.

Funding Type:Grant funding provided by the EU under a Twinning contract (direct management). The modality is Twinning technical assistance financed as grant support to implement institutional cooperation between an EU Member State administration and the beneficiary administration (PMA).

Consortium Requirement:Single lead applicant required per Member State: only one Twinning proposal per Member State National Contact Point may be submitted to the Contracting Authority. The implementation model requires close cooperation between the participating EU Member State administration (lead) and the beneficiary administration (Palestine Monetary Authority), with a team of experts from the Member State. The legal applicant is the Member State administration; implementation will mobilise a project leader, resident twinning adviser, component leaders and a pool of short-term experts.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Geographical beneficiary: Palestine (West Bank and Gaza). Only EU Member State public administrations may apply as lead partners; the action target and implementation take place in Palestine. The programme is EU-funded and implemented bilaterally between an EU Member State administration and the Palestinian beneficiary.

Target Sector:Sector focus: financial sector governance and regulation, central banking, payments and digital finance, financial inclusion, AML/CFT (anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism), fintech / virtual assets oversight, supervisory technology (SupTech), public-private partnerships for digital financial infrastructure, and related institutional capacity building.

Mentioned Countries:Explicitly mentioned: Palestine (beneficiary). Implicitly referenced partners and comparators: EU Member States (applicants), Israel and Jordan (as currencies and cross-border counterparties are referenced). International organisations cited as partners: IMF, World Bank, EIB, UNDP, MENAFATF, BIS. The funding and lead applicants must be EU Member State public administrations.

Project Stage / Expected Maturity:Implementation-ready institutional reform and operational modernisation. The Twinning action is implementation-oriented: it supports policy uptake, regulatory and supervisory framework design, capacity building, piloting of interoperability and PPP modalities, SupTech deployment and operationalisation of payment system components. Target maturity: from policy framework and supervisory practice (development/validation) through operationalisation, demonstration/pilot and capacity building (validation/demonstration), up to institutional adoption and sustainability.

Funding Amount:Total available budget for this Twinning: €2,000,000 (two million euros). This budget covers the Twinning implementation, including project leader and resident twinning adviser costs, component leaders, short-term experts, experts' travel and per diems, training and workshops, pilot activities within budget limits, and associated project management and reporting costs.

Application Type and Submission:Open Call to EU Member State public administrations via the Twinning mechanism. Member State administrations must submit one Twinning proposal through their National Contact Point for Twinning to the Contracting Authority by the stated deadline (31 August 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time). Submission to the Contracting Authority is by email from the Member State National Contact Point following the Twinning Manual and using mandatory templates.

Nature of Support:Financial grant funding to support Twinning technical assistance. Support is monetary (EU budget financing the Twinning contract), which pays for expert inputs and activities. The action delivers non-monetary technical services to the beneficiary (expert transfer, capacity building, procedural support, manuals, pilots) funded by the grant. In practice beneficiaries receive non-monetary institutional capacity building delivered through grant-funded expert assignments and activities.

Application Stages:Single-stage Member State proposal submission followed by evaluation and award. Process steps: 1) Member State public administration prepares and submits Twinning proposal to its National Contact Point; 2) National Contact Point forwards the single allowed proposal to the Contracting Authority by deadline; 3) Administrative/eligibility check and evaluation by the Contracting Authority using Twinning Manual grids; 4) Evaluation committee and award decision; 5) Notification (provisional notification date 30 September 2026) and contracting. The Member State must include proposed Project Leader (PL), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) and Component Leaders and their CVs in the proposal. The evaluation assesses operational capacity and merits of the proposal (methodology, expertise) and an operational Yes/No selection on required profiles.

Application Templates and Form Structure:Twinning proposals must follow the Twinning Manual templates and structure. Required elements include: administrative compliance checklist; lead Member State administration identification and National Contact Point endorsement; project description and rationale aligned with beneficiary priorities; detailed methodology and proposed implementation approach; logical sequencing of activities and rolling three-month workplans; profiles and CVs of the proposed PL, RTA, Component Leaders and short-term experts; staffing and management structure; indicative timetable; budget breakdown consistent with Twinning rules; monitoring and reporting approach; and proof of candidate public administration authority and capacity. Annexes referenced include the Twinning Fiche, Annex C9 publication instructions, Annex C1 logical framework, and Twinning Manual templates (Annex C6 and C7 grids for eligibility and award). The applicant must use the Twinning Manual template exactly as specified and submit through the National Contact Point email to the Contracting Authority.

Application Deadlines and Timeline:Deadline for Member State National Contact Points to submit to Contracting Authority: 31 August 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. Provisional start of evaluation committee meetings: 14 September 2026. Provisional notification of award results: 30 September 2026. Contract and implementation expected to start after conclusion of evaluation and signature; project duration 25 months.

Success Rates:No historical success rate is provided in the call documentation. Twinning calls are competitive and limited to one proposal per Member State; selection depends on strict eligibility (profiles of PL, RTA, Component Leaders) and qualitative scoring (methodology, expertise). A single negative selection criterion for required profiles disqualifies a proposal. Therefore success rates are low relative to the number of interested Member State administrations and conditional on meeting profile requirements and proposal quality.

Co-funding Requirement:No co-funding from the beneficiary is requested as a financial contribution; the action is EU-funded. The beneficiary (PMA) must provide in-kind counterpart contributions: dedicated staff time, office space and meeting/training facilities, access to PMA systems and data as required, and facilitate secondments/engagement of beneficiary counterparts (local PL and RTA counterparts). The Member State proposer must cover costs within the Twinning budget for experts and activities; no additional co-funding requirement is indicated in the call other than ensuring in-kind beneficiary support.

Number of Application Stages to Award:One formal submission stage by Member State National Contact Point to the Contracting Authority, followed by evaluation (administrative eligibility + qualitative scoring), committee deliberation and award/notification. Effectively the award process is 2 steps from applicant perspective: submission and evaluation/award.

Selection and Award Criteria Highlights:Selection: Operational capacity of proposed PL, RTA and Component Leaders evaluated on a Yes/No basis; a single negative on required selection criteria disqualifies. Award: qualitative scoring (1 to 5) on methodology, quality and relevance of the proposed approach, experience of proposed experts and the Member State administration in cooperation projects, clarity of administrative structure and capacity to implement. Refer to Annex C6 (Administrative compliance and eligibility grid) and Annex C7 (award grids) in the Twinning Manual.

Detailed Technical Components and Expected Results

1. 1Component 1: Digital payments — strengthen resilience, offline capabilities, interoperability and cross-border payments; adopt governance, cybersecurity oversight and operational resilience measures; increase adoption and consumer trust. Expected outputs include updated regulatory/policy frameworks, manuals (cybersecurity, consumer protection), and increased percentage of adults using digital payments.
2. 2Component 2: Virtual assets and CBDCs — develop risk-based regulatory and supervisory framework for virtual assets, build PMA capacity to monitor virtual assets and external CBDC spillovers, and conduct feasibility analysis for potential Palestinian digital currency. Expected outputs include regulatory documents, staff training (targets: e.g. 20 staff for digital currency supervision; 15 staff for CBDC feasibility methodologies), and monitoring capacities.
3. 3Component 3: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for digital/financial infrastructure — design and operationalize a risk-based PPP governance framework, pilot interoperable and cost-efficient digital payment solutions via PPPs, and scale merchant adoption. Expected outputs include PPP legal/regulatory instruments and PPP-driven pilot projects (target at least two pilots).
4. 4Component 4: Supervisory Review and Evaluation Process (SREP) modernisation — integrate ICT, cyber, operational, third-party risks in SREP, deploy supervisory stress testing and SupTech tools, train PMA staff, and deploy automated supervisory tools. Expected outputs include a modernised SREP framework, trained staff (target at least 40), deployed automated tools (target at least two), and improved bank resilience indicators.

Crosscutting areas:AML/CFT alignment, financial inclusion (targets in NFIS and Payment Strategy documents), consumer protection, gender and human rights considerations, cybersecurity, and sustainability of reforms. The Twinning action is explicitly designed to complement IMF, World Bank, EIB, UNDP and other technical assistance already delivered and to operationalise policy recommendations into day-to-day supervisory and regulatory practice.

Implementation team and profiles required:Project Leader (high-ranking Member State official with central banking/regulatory experience), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA resident in Palestine for the project duration), four Component Leaders (one per component), and a pool of short-term experts. Minimum qualification thresholds: university degree or equivalent and at least 8 years relevant experience for senior experts; minimum 3 years of domain-specific experience. Fluency in English required; familiarity with EU acquis and central banking best practice preferred. CVs of PL, RTA and component leaders must be included in the proposal.

Management, Reporting and Institutional Arrangements:Implementing agency responsible for contracting and accounting: Office of the EU Representative (West Bank and Gaza Strip, UNRWA). The project will be steered by a Project Steering Committee (PSC) co-chaired by PLs from Member State and PMA, meeting regularly. Reporting: interim quarterly narrative and financial reports and a final report (narrative and financial). All formal communications and reports are in English. Beneficiary must provide office space for RTA and short-term experts and a PMA counterpart PL and RTA counterpart will be designated (named contacts: Dr Yahya Shunnar – Governor; Faris Hindi – PMA Payments Director as PL counterpart; Dima Najjar – Projects Coordinator as RTA counterpart).

Monitoring and Performance Indicators:The Twinning fiche defines component-level indicators and targets to measure performance (examples: number of regulatory frameworks updated, number of manuals developed, percentage increase in adults using digital payments, number of PMA staff trained per topic, number of PPP legal instruments adopted, number of SupTech tools deployed, number of SREP instruments adopted). An inception phase will refine baselines and KPIs and rolling workplans will be updated quarterly.

Risks and Assumptions:Key risks include political and security instability, restrictions on cross-border financial flows, deterioration in correspondent banking relations, limited infrastructure (internet/energy), capacity constraints within PMA or banks, resistance to interoperability from incumbents, delays in legislative changes, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Assumptions: PMA and beneficiary institutions allocate staff and space; cooperation from private sector partners; international standards and partners remain available; project activities can proceed in the local operating environment.

Facilities and In-Kind Contributions from Beneficiary:PMA to provide equipped office space for the RTA and short-term experts, meeting rooms and training facilities (free of charge where feasible), designate counterpart PL and RTA, allocate staff for participation in activities and provide institutional access to systems and data needed for implementation.

How to Apply and Where to Find Documents

Twinning proposals must be prepared by the EU Member State public administration using the Twinning Manual templates and submitted by the Member State National Contact Point to the Contracting Authority via the designated email. Detailed guidance and all required annexes are contained in the Twinning Manual and in the Twinning Fiche and Annexes published with the call. Key public documents published with the call include the Twinning Fiche, Annex C9 Call publication, National AML/CFT Strategy, Palestine Financial Inclusion Strategy, and PMA Payment Systems Framework (2026-2030). The Twinning fiche and annex documents are linked from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal call page and internal document URLs provided in the call notice Twinning Fiche Annex C9 National AML CFT Strategy Palestine Financial Inclusion Strategy PMA NPS Framework 2026-2030 ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Primary Twinning Fiche and all annexes are published with the call on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and via Member State National Contact Points for Twinning. See Twinning Fiche and Annexes for full technical specification, mandatory results, logical framework, and detailed expert profiles.

Opportunity Fundamentals

This is an EU Twinning Call for Proposals (Reference:EuropeAid) aimed at strengthening the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) to support stability, transparency, accountability, and the digital transition of Palestine's financial sector [[1]]. The total EU-funded budget is €2,000,000, with a project duration of 25 months (22 months implementation + 3 months closure) [[1]][[4]].

Key Deadline:The deadline for Twinning proposals submission by National Contact Points to the Contracting Authority is 31 August 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time [[1]][[3]].

Who Can Apply

Only Public Administrations and Mandated bodies from EU Member States may apply, and they must do so through their respective National Contact Points for Twinning [[1]]. Private companies, NGOs, or non-EU entities cannot apply directly [[1]].

1. 1EU Member State Public Administrations (e.g., Central Banks, Financial Supervisors)
2. 2Mandated bodies as defined in the EU Twinning Manual
3. 3Applications must be submitted via the Member State's National Contact Point for Twinning

Project Objectives and Components

The overall objective is to contribute to the stability, transparency, accountability, and digital transition of Palestine's financial sector [[1]]. The specific objective is to foster modernized oversight practices and integrate secure digital innovations [[1]].

Applicant Requirements and Team Structure

Applicants must propose a qualified team including a Project Leader (PL), a Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA), four Component Leaders (CLs), and Short-Term Experts (STEs) [[1]]. The PL must be a high-ranking EU MS official with 8+ years of experience and 3+ years in senior regulatory management [[1]]. The RTA must reside in Palestine for the project duration and have 8+ years of experience in central banking [[1]].

Mandatory Expert Qualifications:All team members must have a university degree or equivalent professional experience of 8 years, minimum 3 years of professional experience in the relevant domain, and excellent English communication skills [[1]].

Strategic Context and Alignment

The project aligns with the PMA's Payment Systems Framework 2026-2030, the Palestine Financial Inclusion Strategy 2026-2028, and the EU-PA Reform Agenda [[1]]. It also supports Sustainable Development Goals 8.10 (financial access), 16.4 (reducing illicit flows), and 16.6 (transparent institutions) [[1]].

Implementation and Contact Details

The implementing agency is the Office of the European Union Representative in West Bank and Gaza (UNRWA) [[1]]. The beneficiary administration is the Palestine Monetary Authority, with Dr. Yahya Shunnar as Chairman/Governor and Faris Hindi as Project Leader counterpart [[1]].

Key Contact for Tendering:Mr. Davide Morucci, Programme Officer, davide.morucci@eeas.europa.eu, Tel: +972 2 541 5812 [[1]].

Footnotes

1. 1Official EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Prospect Details
2. 2Twinning Fiche (ANNEX C1): PMA Twinning Fiche
3. 3Development Aid Grant Summary: Grant Details