EU adopts new $113m aid package for refugees

The European Union has adopted a new €100 million ($113 million) assistance package for refugees and local communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq to bring the total amount mobilised from the budget of 22 EU Member States and Turkey to over $2 billion since 2014 following the outbreak of the Syrian war.

“The EU – via the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis – adopted a €100 million new assistance package to support the resilience of refugees, internally displaced person (IDP) host communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. This will be done through the strengthening of public service delivery systems, improved access to higher education, and improved child protection services,” said the Union in a press release yesterday.

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn commented on the Union’s commitment and the challenge of addressing the plight of refugees in the region: “The EU delivers on its commitments. With these additional €100 million of assistance, the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis continues to support refugees to become increasingly economically self-reliant. Through access to income generating opportunities, they are able to take their livelihoods in their own hands, provide for themselves, and preserve their dignity. At the same time we are supporting host communities and Syria’s neighbours in their effort to expand their economies while coping with challenges related to the conflict which is still ongoing.”

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The funds will be “turned into financing concrete actions helping refugees and host countries alike,” which include the following:

• €55 million ($62 million)  to support the resilience of refugees, IDPs, returnees and host communities in Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq;
• €28.4 million ($31 million) for access to higher education for refugees and vulnerable host youth in Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq;
• €12.5 million ($14 million) to provide protection services to children and women victim of gender based violence in Lebanon;
• €3.6 million ($4 million) to continue and strengthen the Trust Fund’s horizontal monitoring and evaluation framework.

Since its establishment in December 2014, a significant share of the EU’s support to help Syrian refugees and support Syria’s neighbouring countries cope with the refugee crisis is provided through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis.

The Trust Fund reinforces an integrated EU aid response to the crisis and primarily addresses longer-term resilience and needs to enhance self-reliance of Syrian refugees, and at the same time ease the pressure on host communities and their administrations in neighbouring countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

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