EU unlocks first tranche of refugee aid in Turkey

BRUSSELS

The European Union has begun funding projects to meet the needs of Syrian refugees hosted inside Turkey.

Out of the 3 billion euros the EU pledged last year to fund facilities for refugees, 95 million euros was activated on Friday to provide for education and the humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The European Commission said in a statement on Friday that 55 million euros would be spent to make sure Syrian school children get access to education, while 40 million euros would be spent on humanitarian aid through the World Food Program in collaboration with the Turkish Red Crescent.

''Children of Syrian refugees in Turkey need access to formal education so that they can hope to build a normal life in the future,'' Johannes Hahn, European commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy, said on Friday while visiting refugee camps in southeast Turkey.

''[They] will benefit from additional humanitarian funding through the Facility for Refugees in Turkey,'' he added.

The announcement comes two days ahead of a Turkey-EU summit set to focus on collaboration over the worst refugee crisis facing Europe since World War II.

Under last fall’s refugee action plan, the EU pledged 3 billion euros in funding to meet the needs of Syrian refugees in Turkey, visa liberalization for Turkish citizens, and speeding up the EU candidate country's accession process in exchange for Turkey stemming the flow of Syrian refugees coming in to Europe via Greece.