ISTANBUL: A substantial portion of the funds promised by the EU to help Syrian refugees in Turkey is still not being used actively to meet their needs, Turkey’s EU Ministry said on Saturday.
Of the €6 billion ($7.2 billion) agreed upon in two deals in 2015 and 2016, only €1.78 billion has been transferred to Turkish ministries and international organizations responsible for implementing the projects, the ministry said in a statement.
“While Turkey has used more than $30 billion of its national funds for the needs of Syrians who have been in Turkey for approximately 7 years, a substantial amount of the €3 billion promised by the EU in November 2015 has effectively not been used in the field.”
Of the €1.78 billion transferred so far, it said 1.3 billion went to international organizations, 270 million to the Ministry of Education, 120 million to the Ministry of Health, and 12 million to the Ministry of the Interior.
Yet that did not equate to the funds being actively used to meet the needs of Syrian refugees, the ministry said.
“Unfortunately, the spending mechanism of the EU funds are not working fast,” it said.
In the past, Turkey has argued it would be easier to give the money directly to the government — something the EU rejects, saying it always channels humanitarian aid through specialized agencies and non-governmental institutions so it goes directly to those in need.
In return for funds for Syrian refugees, visa-free travel and revitalized EU accession efforts, Turkey agreed to cooperate in stopping migrants crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece and take back those who do not qualify for asylum.
However, relations between Turkey and the West deteriorated in the past year. EU officials have said Turkey has a long path ahead of it before becoming a member of the bloc or being granted visa-free travel.
More recently, Turkey has expressed anger that Germany is granting asylum to Turks, more than 400 of them with diplomatic passports and government working permits, accused of participating in a failed coup in July.
Turkey says EU funds not being actively used for needs of Syrian refugees
Turkey says EU funds not being actively used for needs of Syrian refugees
Syrian authorities find remains of five victims of Assad regime
- The remains of the individuals were scattered on open ground near a house in the village of Al-Qashla, near Manbij
LONDON: Syrian authorities completed the recovery of the remains of at least five individuals in eastern Aleppo province, believed to have died due to the brutal practices of the deposed Bashar Assad regime.
The Syrian Civil Defense found the remains of individuals scattered on open ground near a house in the village of Al-Qashla, near Manbij, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
They have been surveying and investigating the area since Monday, when the first report of human remains came through, in coordination with the National Authority for the Missing.
Authorities have found multiple mass graves in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Last week, authorities reported that the remains of 14 individuals were found in the Adra industrial area, northeast of Damascus, during excavation for mill foundations in the area.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 177,000 people have been forcibly disappeared in Syria since March 2011.
