New €3bn Refugee Facility in Turkey: questions on funding
Questions about €3 billion in funding from EU and national budgets for a proposed facility to support Syrian refugees in Turkey are to be raised in a joint debate on migration issues on Tuesday afternoon. MEPs may ask the European Commission where the EU budget share is supposed to come from, how much individual member states have pledged so far, and how it can be ensured that the money will be effectively channelled to meet refugees’ needs.
The Refugee Facility for Turkey, launched by the Commission on 24 November 2015, is a coordination mechanism designed to help Turkey to cope with the consequences of the refugee influx. The funding is supposed to be composed of €500 million from the EU budget and €2.5 billion in contributions from the member states. MEPs are also expected to ask the Commission to confirm this distribution.
MEPs delegation to assess the situation in Turkey
Delegations from the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs will travel to Turkey on 8-11 February to assess the situation of refugees on the ground, including those not living in camps. The MEPs, led by Budgets Committee Chair Jean Arthuis (ALDE, FR) and Civil Liberties Committee member Sylvie Guillaume (S&D, FR), also intend to assess cooperation between Turkey and the EU in the context of the migration crisis. They are to meet ministers in charge of migration-related issues, as well as representatives of the Turkish Parliament and civil society, in Ankara.
Procedure: Council and Commission statements (joint debate)
Debate: Tuesday 2 February
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