EU renews refugee support to Turkey

The European Union's move to extend its support to the Syrian refugees in Turkey is a blatant message that the bloc will continue to back the efforts of the Turkish people in dealing with around four millions refugees on their land, the European envoy to Turkey has said, reiterating that the new financial package will be implemented in coordination with the Turkish government.

"The European assistance needs to support efforts made by the Turkish authorities, by the Turkish municipalities and by the Turkish people. So, in this sense, I think that the Turkish authorities see the same developments, and we need to live up to them. So, we want to support them in their effort," EU Ambassador to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut told the Hürriyet Daily News in an interview on June 23 while paying a visit to Bursa in northwestern Anatolia.

The ambassador's remarks came as the EU Council was scheduled to discuss a proposal tabled by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a new financial package to the countries hosting Syrian refugees, namely Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Reuters suggested that 3 billion euros would be allocated to Turkey out of a 5.77 billion Euros package.

Ambassador Meyer-Landrut did not speculate over the amount of money to be pledged to Turkey but said the size of the package would be adequate to the tasks in regards to hosting 4 million Syrians who have been living in Turkey for up to 10 years. The situation has changed since Turkey and the EU compromised over the migrant deal in 2016, and education, professional training and socio-economic development of these communities have become much more important, the ambassador stressed, informing that the financial assistance would be used in coordination with the Turkish...