28/06/2017 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 28 June, the European Commission announced that of the overall €3 billion Facility for Refugees in Turkey for 2016-2017, €2.9 billion has been allocated thus far. "Contracts have been signed for 48 projects worth over €1.6 billion, out of which €811 million has already been disbursed", the Commission added in a press release that was published at the end of the seventh steering committee meeting of the EU Facility for Refugees. The Commission stated that the disbursement "continues at an accelerated pace". The facility's €3 billion budget for 2016-2017 is made up of €1 billion from the EU budget, and €2 billion from the EU member states. European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn is to visit some of the refugee support projects financed by the facility when he travels to Turkey next week. (CG)