EU should boost funding of Syrian refugees: Turkish deputy minister
The European Union should spend more than the 6 billion euros already allotted to fund Syrian refugees in Turkey, and speed up the flow of that money, said Faruk Kaymakcı, the Turkish deputy minister for foreign affairs. “As long as the crisis is there we have to work together. The 6 billion euros will not solve the problem when it is finally all spent,” Kaymakcı told reporters in Istanbul on Dec. 14.
Reuters
TheEuropean Union should spend more than the 6 billion euros ($6.6billion) already allotted to fund Syrian refugees in Turkey, andspeed up the flow of that money, the Turkish foreign ministry’s EUpoint person said on Dec. 14.
EUfunds support the roughly 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey,after Syria’s more than eight year war killed hundreds of thousandsand pushed millions from their homes. In turn, Turkey has agreed tohalt further immigration to Europe.
“Theflow of funds should be sped up and the amount of funding should beincreased,” said Faruk Kaymakcı, a deputy Turkish minister offoreign affairs.
“Aslong as the crisis is there we have to work together. The 6 billioneuros will not solve the problem when it is finally all spent,”Kaymakcı told reporters in Istanbul.
TheEU, which set up the funding in 2015, says more than 5.6 billioneuros have been allocated, more than 3.5 billion contracted and morethan 2.4 billion disbursed.
Kaymakcısaid hosting the refugees costs Turkey some $40 billion in total.
Europe’srelations with Turkey are strained on several fronts includingdisagreement over a Turkish military incursion in October innortheast Syria.
Turkeyin late October threatened to “open the gates” to allow refugeesinto Europe unless Europeans back its plan to resettle them innortheast Syria.