EU considers 5.7 billion euro migration funding package

The European Union is considering a total package of €5.77 billion ($6.8 billion) for humanitarian projects in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon in order to prevent a new wave of refugees entering the EU from Syria. Of this package, €3.5 billion ($4.2 billion) would go to Turkey to continue hosting Syrian refugees fleeing the decade-long civil war until 2024.

The package would be part of a broader regional refugee support plan to prevent migrants from reaching the bloc, two diplomats told Wednesday's briefing. The aid would go to humanitarian projects, not governments, and unlike the previous €6 billion round of funding signed in 2016 between the EU and Ankara, this time the money will come entirely from the EU's common budget, so the European Parliament will have to give its approval. 

In the declaration of the members of the European Council on 25 March 2021, the Commission was invited to present a proposal to the Council for the continuation of funding for Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as in Jordan and Lebanon. The desire to strengthen migration cooperation with Turkey was also emphasised.

All 27 members of the European Council are expected to support the European Commission's funding proposal. It will be discussed at the summit on 24-25 June, where EU leaders will meet in Brussels to discuss issues related to the pandemic, economic recovery, migration and external relations, including relations with Turkey and Russia. 

Turkey is currently hosting some four million Syrian refugees and has spent more than $40 billion on providing basic services, it is asking for EU funds to be paid directly to the Ankara government. Such a demand is unlikely to be accepted by the EU, as there are serious concerns about Turkey's growing authoritarianism and the nation's deteriorating human rights record. Nor should it be forgotten that Turkey is militarily involved in the Syrian war and currently controls Afrin in the north of the country. Turkey is also accused of using migrants as bargaining chips, which Ankara denies.

It is also likely to reopen the EU's tortuous debate over relations with Turkey, which lawmakers have long accused of repressing media freedoms and imprisoning political opponents without proper trial, something Ankara also denies.

Under the original March 2016 migration deal, Turkey agreed to take back all migrants and refugees crossing the Aegean to illegally enter Greece, including Syrians, in exchange for more funds. For its part, the EU has promised to lift visa requirements for Turks visiting Europe and to speed up Ankara's bid to join the bloc, although all talks in this area have stalled.

EU leaders will try to revive them at Thursday's summit, offering Ankara the chance to further strengthen cooperation in areas of common interest. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last weekend to discuss migration, visa liberalisation and Turkey-EU ties. 

Cavusoglu told a press conference that the EU must "come back to the table" in negotiations with Turkey. "We expect the EU to take concrete steps now," he said. "It has been more than a year and a half and we still have not received an answer on these issues. We hope that this summit will be a turning point and that they will not drag Turkey's feet".