DELEGATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION TO TURKEY
AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ TÜRKİYE DELEGASYONU
Press Release / Basın Duyurusu
Syrian refugee crisis: EU Trust Fund mobilizes €350 million
The EU today launched a significant support package for Syrian refugees and their host
communities under the EU Trust Fund, worth € 350 million. Almost half of it is
earmarked for the refugee situation in Turkey. It will provide urgently needed aid to
refugees and overstretched host communities here and in other Syria neighbouring
countries.
Ankara, 01 December 2015
Today, the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis adopted a package of
programmes totalling €350 million, with almost half of the amount allocated to Turkey, the
single biggest EU measure in response to the Syrian refugee crisis to date. The programmes
will in the coming months help Syrian refugees and overstretched host communities in Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq through the provision of basic education and child protection, better
access to healthcare, as well as support to resilience, economic opportunities and social
inclusion.
The €350 million aid package consists of four different programmes. In this regard, the Turkish
government has earmarked the education and health sectors as top priorities.
A €140 million education programme will finance a massive increase of support to the
Ministries of Education in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to enable them to enrol an additional
172,000 refugee children in school, while also providing for accelerated learning programmes,
non-formal and early childhood education and child protection activities.
For Turkey, it comprises two levels of action: (i) a multi-country programme with UNICEF
focusing on formal education (development of school capacity, incentives for teachers, etc.)
and child protection, (ii) a multi-country action by European NGOs focusing on retention
support, non-formal and early childhood education.
A €130 million resilience & local development programme responds to the urgent need of
improving economic opportunities for refugees and vulnerable host communities beyond
dependency on humanitarian relief. It will be implemented by European NGOs, EU Member
States' development agencies, and the Turkish Red Crescent/Kızılay.
In Turkey, vocational training and income generating measures are an important sector of
support, addressing basic financial needs of vulnerable families mainly through community
centres, engaging unemployed and disillusioned youth through work, skills development and
community engagement, while also mitigating tensions between host and refugee
communities.
A €55 million health programme aims to widen and enhance access of refugees to health
Uğur Mumcu Caddesi No:88 Kat:4 Gaziosmanpaşa 06700 Ankara
Tel.: (+90 312) 459 87 00 Faks: (+90 312) 446 67 37 E-posta: delegation-turkey@eeas.europa.eu
Internet: http://www.avrupa.info.tr
care, and protection from sexual and gender-based violence. It will reach and benefit at least
700,000 refugees with a focus on Turkey and Lebanon. In Turkey, EU support will focus on
primary health care and psycho-social support.
Background
Since the start of the conflict in Syria, more than 11.5 million people have been forced to flee
their homes, including 4 million that fled to neighbouring countries.
Its geographical position makes Turkey a major first reception and transit country for migrants.
The country is hosting more than 2 million asylum seekers and refugees, the highest number in
the world.
Turkey is making commendable efforts to provide massive humanitarian aid and support to an
unprecedented and continuously increasing influx of people seeking refuge and has already
spent more than €7 billion of its own resources on addressing this crisis.
The EU is a leading donor in the response to the Syrian crisis with €4.2 billion mobilised by the
European Commission and Member States collectively in humanitarian, development,
economic and stabilisation assistance to Syrians in their country and to refugees and their host
communities in neighbouring countries. All in all, the EU budget has dedicated €325 million so
far in support to Turkey to face the consequences of the crisis in Syria.
The EU Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis was launched one year ago to provide a
regional response to a regional crisis, thus enabling the EU and its Member States to jointly
intervene, flexibly and quickly, in response to shifting needs. The Trust Fund has, within a very
short time, reached a total volume of €610 million (€570 million from the EU budget and just
over €40 million from 15 Member States), of which €390 million are already mobilised.
More details:
- The regional press release published by the European Commission on 1 December 2015:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-6212_en.htm
- More about the EU Regional Trust Fund set up in response to the crisis in Syria:
http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/neighbourhood/countries/syria/madad/index_en.htm
- More about the Refugee facility for Turkey: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-156162_en.htm
For more information please contact:
Lucas Spieser, EU Delegation to Turkey / Lucas.Spieser @eeas.europa.eu
Uğur Mumcu Caddesi No:88 Kat:4 Gaziosmanpaşa 06700 Ankara
Tel.: (+90 312) 459 87 00 Faks: (+90 312) 446 67 37 E-posta: delegation-turkey@eeas.europa.eu
Internet: http://www.avrupa.info.tr