In a letter to EU heads of state and government on Monday 17 October, ahead of the European summit on 20 and 21 October, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, says that the fund for refugees in Turkey is now fully operational and will usefully serve refugees.
Six months after implementation of this measure, based on a budget of €1 billion from the EU and a further €2 bn from the member states, there is now enough money for the fund to become operational, with €2.2 bn already allocated and more than €1.2 bn committed to tangible, signed contracts. The Commission president says the aid has made a clear difference in the life of the more than 3 million refugees living in Turkey. Juncker said the Commission proposed in September to pay out €348 million from the refugee fund to give a million refugees credit-type cards for directly receiving cash to cover basic needs such as food, blankets and school supplies for their children.
A draft conclusions document for the 20 October summit makes no mention of the refugee fund for Turkey but talks more generally about the need to continue to implement the EU-Turkey migration agreement of 18 March (see EUROPE 11515). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)