Europe allocates €1.4bn for Syrian refugees in Turkey

The European Union has allocated a budget worth €1.4 billion to help Syrian refugees in Turkey, the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) announced yesterday.

Jean Lewis, the head of EHCO’s office in Turkey, told the Anadolu Agency that the directorate has carried out several service projects in the province of Eskishehr, noting that one of the priority projects, scheduled to be implemented soon, is the financial assistance that will be provided to the refugees through a Red Crescent card.

“We know that in Turkey today there are about three million refugees, the vast majority of those are living outside of the camps, about 90 per cent. One of our biggest projects… is the emergency safety net which is targeting 1.3 million refugees across the country with monthly cash cards transfers to be able to support their basic needs,” Lewis explained.

She added that the directorate carries out its projects in cooperation with various Turkish bodies, most importantly the Ministry of Family and Social Policies and the Red Crescent Foundation.

The EU official expressed her gratitude to the Turkish government and the Turkish people for the care and support they have been providing to the Syrian refugees, inside and outside the camps.