EU to Spend Hundreds of Millions Helping Refugees in Turkey

THE EUROPEAN UNION has pledged to spend nearly half a billion euro in extending two aid programmes for refugees in Turkey.

Turkey is currently home to 4 million refugees, most of whom are Syrians who have fled their war-torn homeland. About 70% are women and children and the majority live outside refugee camps across the country.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, announced on Wednesday that they would be spending €485 million on extending two existing aid programmes until early 2022. One of these projects offers cash assistance to refugees, while the other offers investment in education for children and young people.

In 2016 the EU sent over €16 billion to Turkey for its refugee population, under the condition that the country kept its refugees within its borders. The bloc also offered Ankara fast-tracked EU membership and Visa-free entry to Turks travelling into Europe as part of the deal.

However, Turkish President Recep Erdogan sent thousands of refugees into Europe in 2016 in retaliation for the EU not aiding his military activities in northern Syria.

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