What are the needs?

Turkey's geographical position makes it the first reception and transit country for many refugees and migrants. As the result of an unprecedented influx of people seeking refuge, the country currently hosts almost 4 million registered refugees (out of which nearly 3.6 million are Syrians) and is making commendable efforts to provide them with humanitarian aid and support. Other registered refugees are mainly from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Regarding the numbers of registered refugees, Turkey is the country bearing the most responsibility in the refugee crisis. This has had a significant impact on the host communities and the national budget resources.

How are we helping?

The European Union is committed to assist Turkey in dealing with this challenge. The European Union is the leading donor in the international response to the Syrian crisis, with an overall total of € 10.9 billion from the EU budget and Member States collectively allocated in humanitarian and development assistance since the start of the conflict in 2011.

The European Commission is providing assistance to support vulnerable refugees who have fled violence in their country, in particular those living outside of camps and in need of immediate aid, and those requiring health assistance and access to education. The European Commission alone has provided more than €5.3 billion of assistance to support civilians inside Syria as well as vulnerable Syrian refugees and host communities in the region.

Recognizing the need for a coordinating mechanism to financially assist Turkey in its remarkable efforts, the Facility for Refugees in Turkey entered into force in March 2016. The Facility for Refugees in Turkey is the response to the EU Member States’ call for significant additional funding to support refugees in the country. The Facility is designed to ensure that the needs of both refugees and host communities are addressed in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. The Facility is active in six priority areas: humanitarian assistance, education, health, municipal infrastructure, socio-economic support, and migration management.

The implementation of actions financed from the Facility is being carried out by ECHO (European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department) for humanitarian assistance, IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession), IcSP (Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace), and the EUTF (EU Regional Trust Fund for Syrian Refugees) for non-humanitarian assistance.