EU to grant €400M to Turkey as disaster relief

The European Union’s disaster relief to Turkey, Italy, and Romania totaling €454.8 million was approved by the European Council. Of this amount, €400M will be given to Turkey, which was affected by Feb. 6 Earthquakes.

Monday September 18 2023 05:19 pm

Duvar English

The European Union (EU) has approved 400 million euros (approximately 11.5 billion Turkish liras) in disaster relief to Turkey for the Feb. 6 Earthquakes that hit the southeast of the country, killing at least 50,000.

The European Council, which is made up of representatives of EU member states, agreed to approve the European Commission's disaster aid to Turkey, Italy, and Romania totaling 454.8 million euros.

Of the aid, 33.9 million euros will be allocated to drought-hit Romania in 2022 and 20.9 million euros to Italy, where floods caused devastation in 2022.

The aid will come from the part of the EU budget earmarked for solidarity and emergency aid to EU member states and candidate countries in the aftermath of major disasters.

The European Parliament must also authorize the payment. The issue is expected to be on the parliament's agenda at the beginning of October.

Speaking at the opening of the International Donors' Conference in Belgium in March after the earthquakes that devastated Turkey and northwest Syria, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, "The EU will support Turkey with one billion euros for post-earthquake reconstruction."

"Millions of people no longer have a home and are living in tents as the winter drags on," von der Leyen said, "homes, schools, and hospitals must be rebuilt to the highest safety standards,” she added.

Thousands of people will spend their second winter in temporary settlements as they await the reconstruction of their cities. While there are still areas where rubble removal is ongoing, many people are living in tents and containers, lacking constant access to water and electricity.