EU transfers $1bn to support Syria refugees in Turkey

The European Union has transferred €838 million ($1 billion) out of the €3 billion ($3.6 billion) it had pledged as a first stage payment to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, the Anadolu Agency reported sources in the EU as saying.

According to the sources, the date of future payments remains unknown.

In November 2015 and March 2016, the European Union pledged to transfer two financial packages to the Turkish government by the end of 2018, each worth €3 billion, to support Syrian refugees and meet their needs.

The two sides agreed at the 2015 summit to allocate €1.3 billion ($1.56 billion) for humanitarian relief and €1.7 billion ($2 billion) for education, health and infrastructure, migration management and social and economic support projects.

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