EU ‘agree’ to 3.5 bln euro migrant funding
Turkey hosts some 4m Syrian refugees
TOP European Union leaders agreed in principle on Thursday on a new financial package for Turkey for hosting refugees and taking back migrants from Greece while also warning against “instrumentalisation of migrants for political purposes.”
The 3.5 billion euros for Turkey would be part of a larger aid package that aims to continue to stop migrants from reaching the EU. It also would earmark 2.2 billion euros for Lebanon and Jordan, according to a working document prepared by the European Commission for the two-day European Council summit of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels. UN SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres also attended.
Turkey hosts some four million Syrian refugees, while Lebanon has 855,000 and Jordan nearly 667,000, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
A summit statement said, “The European Council calls on the
Commission to put forward without delay formal proposals for the continuation of financing for Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and other parts of the region.”
The commission is expected to submit the formal package to the European Council by September. The monies will have to come out of the EU’s common budget, and be approved by the European Parliament. This could create some issues for Turkey, which was criticised by the European Parliament in May for backsliding on the rule of law and fundamental rights and for pursuing a confrontational and hostile foreign policy in the eastern Mediterranean. The parliamentarians recommended the formal suspension of accession talks with Turkey if this trend continues. The European Council conclusions also expressed concern about “rule of law and fundamental rights.”
The new package would replace the 2016 EU-Turkey Statement, under which the EU committed six billion euros to help Ankara stop irregular migration from Turkey to the EU.
Though the accord has succeeded in its original aim of reducing the number of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea, Turkey has bitterly complained that it has only received half of the funds promised.
The EU member states, on the other hand, accuse Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of using Syrian refugees as political pawns, particularly after Turkey decided to open its border for refugees to cross into Europe in February 2020.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell at the weekend to discuss migration, visa liberalisation and Turkey-EU ties. He told a news conference the EU must “return to the table” on negotiations with Turkey.